Dragon Effect Sword, Sorcery, and Biotics
by Vergil1989 the Crossover King
Summary: After coming into contact with the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime, on top of having the warning from the now dead Protheans, Cassandra Shepard, survivor of Mindior and biotic Adept, has somehow wound up on Thedas on the run with the Hawkes. Starting a new life on a new world unlike anything she's ever imagined won't be easy, especially with forces out to get them all.
1. Ch 1 Of Hawkes and Shepards

_A/N After coming across a couple of stories that combined ME and DA, I decided to follow suit with one of my own. I'm hoping to make mine original as possible same as everyone else on but considering this is just another fanfiction story I'm sure that somewhere someone else has probably done this before._

_This is a rated M story, mainly for the blood, guts, strong violence and language, and quite possibly sexual content later. ;D_

_And I hadn't intended it at the time, but this story has a fair bit of humor thrown into the mix on top of the usual epicness that is related to Bioware's games and creations, which I don't own in the least by the way._

_Any similarities are entirely incidental since I know how hard you all work to get your own stories across while working within the realms of the universes involved. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this particular tale of things. Adios!_

* * *

**Ch 1. Of Hawkes and Shepards**

_It wasn't everyday you got woken up to find several armed men with swords and crossbows aimed your way. It wasn't everyday that you were dragged to some underground dungeon and forced into a stone chair before being faced with an equally heavily armed woman who happened to be a Seeker for the Chantry either._

_Varric Tethras wasn't entirely worried though since he had faced far more dangerous enemies than her, although he always had Bianca and a few friends with him along for the ride. So while he should have been far more nervous than what he was, Varric still knew that his life hung in the balance. He mentally shrugged though since he was being asked to tell the story of the Champions. Well, that was one tale he could spin without….too many exaggerations, but his first attempt at exaggerating his old friend's skill in combat and the appearance of a red dragon wasn't met with much enthusiasm._

_Mainly the Seeker drew a dagger and pointed it at his throat before throwing a book at him for his trouble._

"_What makes you think I know the truth?"_

"_You were there in the heart of it dwarf! You knew them before they became Champions!" The Seeker shouted, and was about to continue on before Varric held up a hand to pause her tirade._

"_Even if I did I don't know where they are now." He calmly replied, his old storyteller side coming to the front as he got the woman's attention without even trying. He noted she calmed almost immediately but he could still see that one more outright exaggeration and his life would most likely end at the point of her blade._

_He didn't have to be asked if he knew what was at stake as Varric countered the Seeker's blind faith in the Chantry which was now falling to pieces because of what had happened. Feraldan was in chaos not just because of the destruction from both the Blight that had forced the Hawkes to flee, but also because of the trouble he and his old friends had stirred up along the way in Kirkwall._

_So he couldn't blame the Seeker for wanting to find the Champions since they had both been at the heart of it all when it had began in the first place. "If you can't point me to them, then tell me everything you know."_

_This was going to be a long tale. "You're not worried I'll just make it up as I go along." The Seeker's words made it pretty clear if he tried he'd wish he hadn't._

"_Not at all."_

"_Then you'll need to hear the whole story."_

* * *

She should have been dead. She wasn't though as pain registered somewhere in the back of her mind. That Prothean beacon had done a number on her brain; that much she knew for sure since she had a headache that felt worse than any biotic induced brain cramp she had had to date. To tell the truth, she wasn't looking forward to writing the report for this mishap as she slowly sat up and opened her eyes.

"Where in the Hell am I?" She wasn't on the SSV Normandy anymore.

She was on a mountain path somewhere she didn't recognize, and if the fires and smoke in the distance was anything to go by, this place was in the middle of some battle or perhaps even a war.

If the position of the sun was anything to go by, it was late afternoon. On Eden Prime it had been early evening by the time they had reached the beacon. If the times were similar then she hadn't had anything to eat for the better part of two days. She didn't feel all that hungry thankfully or maybe she was too hyped up on adrenaline to notice?

Either way, she needed to make sure she was ready for whatever was likely to come her way.

Doing a quick cursory check of herself, Shepard found nothing physically wrong with her. So it all came down to the bio-amp in the back of her skull. She took a steadying breath and focused her biotic power into her hands she held out a few inches away from each other and was satisfied to see that she was in full working order from the looks of things as a blue ball of dark energy appeared between her palms.

During the check of herself Shepard had immediately noticed that her pistol and her basic armor was missing, but she had on her clothes she normally wore on the Normandy so that meant she had disappeared on the ship while Chakwas had been looking at her most likely after the Prothean beacon had exploded.

She'd worry about the how later, right then she was more worried about finding some answers to her current predicament as she ran down the path away from the fighting, at least she hoped it was away from the fighting.

It wasn't until she caught up with a small group of four, three women and one man, did Shepard realize just how far out of the galaxy she knew and loved she was. Was that real animal leather the young man was wearing for pants? No one had used animal hide for anything for a very long time, at least they didn't anymore where she had come from.

And what was with the staff and swords? Were they technologically backward by chance? Shepard didn't know as she turned around and saw the first of the terrible Darkspawn created by the Blight.

"Get over here quickly!" The young man shouted as Bethany started throwing fireballs at the monsters chasing them while Arya pulled twin daggers from her belt and charged in, passing Shepard as she joined their side. She didn't need to be told twice given the very hostile intent that was stamped on the creatures' faces.

They meant them harm, and that was all the provocation Shepard needed as she closed in on one of the sword wielding brutes and stuck her entire hand through the monster's chest with a biotic infused punch before lashing out with her right leg in a similar fashion as another of the freaks tried to get up behind her. The dark energy surrounding the limb severed the creature's head from its shoulders before it could attack in turn as Shepard danced fluidly around the monsters she had engaged with military CQC.

Arya was quite impressed by the newcomer's acrobatic display as she parried a sword slash from on high before spinning as well, slicing the creature's neck from ear to ear before she kicked out at a second before coming to rest. Pulling a glass orb from somewhere, Arya grinned as she threw it into the air and kicked it into a small crowd of Darkspawn that had gotten a little close to her sister and mother.

The group of Blighted creatures stopped cold as the smoke and glass stunned them where they stood, allowing Bethany and Carver to finish them with spell and steel a moment later. For good measure, Bethany put up a wall of fire cutting off access to where they now stood, at least for now.

"Maker's breath, who are you?" The eldest of the family asked before anyone else could get a chance, having never seen anything like that before in her life, and she had been married to a mage for most of it.

"We can worry about that later Mother, but we need to get out of here first." Bethany replied, although she too was curious, they all were and Shepard couldn't blame them in all honesty.

The feeling was mutual since she didn't believe what she had seen today was possible. How was a woman barely into her early twenties by Shepard's estimates, able to wield twin daggers as she had? More importantly, how was anyone able to shoot balls of fire out of a stick? It just wasn't possible far as she was concerned, yet the evidence suggested otherwise.

Getting her first truly good look at the family before her, Shepard could understand one thing plain as day. Times were desperate for everyone if those things were the cause of all the trouble.

Arya Hawke as she soon found out was the apparent leader of the group by some unspoken rule although they all deferred to their mother. Arya was as tall as Shepard herself was, standing at a good five foot eight inches. She was lean and wiry, a body type suited for speed and agility as had become quickly apparent in the fighting that had taken place.

Amber shaded eyes fell on Shepard's face which was set in a remarkably smooth and heart shaped face, offset by a black shortly trimmed head of hair. She had a strong and fair look about her, something that wasn't part of Shepard's physical makeup unfortunately.

Cassandra Shepard was tough in all regards physically. She was nothing but sharp edges and hard muscle, having trained her body and mind to stand up to the rigors of being a biotic Adept. She wasn't a bad shot with a pistol either but since that was missing she would have to rely fully on her biotic abilities which were substantial, even for an L2. She wasn't invincible however.

Shoulder length brunette hair bounced against her neck, hiding the biotic amp from prying eyes as she let her glacial blue eyes sweep over the area before coming to rest on Arya's face.

Her blue eyes locked onto Arya's own and the rest of the Hawkes seemed to sense a silent confirmation of the other's ability before the wall of fire started to die down. "I'd love to stay here until we're all overrun but we need to move, now!" Carver called out as he helped their mother along as best he could with Bethany and Arya leading ahead. Cassandra took up the back.

"I want a full explanation as to what the Hell is going on whenever we get out of this mess Arya!' Cassandra said as she threw a Singularity behind them, blocking the path further as the mass effect field started to suck in everything around it, which included the disfigured Darkspawn as the flames flared to life once more with added fuel to the fires blocking the only pass.

"If we survive that long I'll be happy to have that chat with you Cassandra." Arya replied, a small smile despite the dire circumstances surrounding them on her face clear as day. If Shepard didn't know any better she'd have sworn she was enjoying herself, or maybe humor was just her way of coping with it all. Either way, she admired the young woman's inner strength.

"Ah sister, always making new friends." Bethany shook her head in amusement since at least now they had a plan. Heading to Kirkwall, wherever that was, was what the Hawkes had decided upon, and since Shepard didn't have anywhere else she could go, she had been invited to tag along until she found her own way.

It didn't take them long to find a couple of knights wielding swords and shields surrounded by more Darkspawn. Another fight was in the making as Arya and Cassandra took point without the other having to ask.

Fighting was what they did best as Arya's rogue training became quite apparent. Disappearing in a puff of smoke, she seemed to blur as she appeared behind one such creature and drove her daggers into its unprotected back. Cassandra had since made another Singularity which Bethany took advantage of by sending a fireball into the center of the dark energy vortex, sending the creatures flying in all directions, what was left of them anyway.

She had to give the young mage credit, God she couldn't believe she just thought that, she certainly caught on quick.

A quick Barrier of shimmering blue dark energy deflected several arrows aimed at Arya and the elder woman's back as the Adept put herself before them just in time. She countered the assault by Warping the freaks into oblivion. The rapidly shifting mass effect fields shredded the Darkspawn apart, leaving a pile of torn flesh where they had once stood.

None of them were fast enough to stop one Darkspawn from seriously wounding the woman's husband, a Templar called Wesley. Aveline quickly disposed of the one that had hurt her love, saying something about they wouldn't have him. Cassandra would come to know the meaning of that soon enough as she and Bethany were quickly confronted by the knight himself despite the injuries he now bore on his person.

"Apostates, keep your distance." Apostate? What in the world was an apostate?

"The Maker has a sense of humor. First the Darkspawn, now a Templar." Bethany retorted, earning an amused smile from Arya while Carver glared at the man in front of them. Despite the difficulties she'd learn came with being a mage or even related to one, Cassandra could tell right off that despite any issues these people had, it was overridden by the ties of family.

Mindoir had taken hers so she envied these people their familial ties.

A quick negotiation was all that was required to get the knight, the Templar to back off for the moment, and it helped that Aveline was of the much more reasonable variety, a fact Shepard was glad to have on their side since they had enough problems on their plate without adding to them.

She had let Arya and her family handle the problem since she was the stranger here. They knew what was what but she planned to learn as she went along. What she knew for sure was this.

Mages and her personal version of 'magic' would be frowned upon if not openly scorned, which meant if she wanted to survive she had better pick up a weapon like a sword or something pretty quick. There were hideous monsters running around, and that the king of the land and his army had been slain in battle against the very same creatures they were fighting now. And last but not least they were running towards freedom that possibly came in the form of a ship, a truly and actual water bound ship.

That last bit was what made Cassandra afraid since she got seasick easily.

The rest she could handle, but sailing was not something she enjoyed at all. She could fight aliens and monsters, space born mercenaries and knights if she had to, even navigate her way through a boarding action if it became necessary, but sailing?

That was going to be a problem.

She was not going to let it stop her though if it meant survival out here however. She was N7 trained; true and true so a little water wasn't going to put her out of commission. It was a good thing too since their last fight of the day was going to be the worst yet.

The Singularity and the flame wall had long since died out and over two dozen of the brutes flooded down the path the only way they could on the mountainous trail that the Hawkes and Shepard had taken while many more came at them from the front. "Back to back! Keep each other covered at all times!" Arya shouted and Shepard agreed with the plan since it was tactically sound.

Another point in Arya's favor, she was a sound tactician and despite her youth, seemed to have an innate understanding of battle in regards to her world.

"I'll do what I can to keep your family safe Arya!" Shepard promised as another Barrier sprang up around Bethany and the elder Hawke, giving them protection while Aveline, Wesley, Carver, and Arya herself held off the tide as best they could. Bethany was just on the edge of her protection as she continued to fire off her spells, keeping back anything that got too close otherwise.

Even concentrating on keeping the enemies back as she was, Shepard was still able to direct Bethany's aim as her old Commander training leapt to the front. "Aveline's in trouble, scorch them!" Another one of Bethany's large exploding fireballs hit the intended targets a moment later.

"Think you can relieve the pressure off of your sister?" A few balls of fire fell from the sky in response a moment later.

"Beth! Carver and Arya could use a hand!" A series of small fireballs was shot forth from Bethany's twirling staff, slowing the encroaching Darkspawn just enough to give Carver and Arya the time they needed to finish them off with their cold hard steel.

Bethany didn't hesitate since her family was in trouble, and it helped to have someone protecting her while she worked her magic to aid them. That and there was something about Shepard that demanded she do her damn best to hold the line. It helped that she seemed to know her business as Bethany's spell work became that much more effective in decimating the Darkspawn that were determined to kill them or worse.

The Genlocks, Hurlocks, and the ranks that were obvious therein were easy enough to handle between everyone working together. It wasn't until another wave and a giant creature arrived on the scene of battle that things got bad.

"Oh no." Bethany cried out at the sight of the Ogre. Shepard had since exhausted her ability to maintain the Barrier and had to rely on her hand to hand to keep the enemies back. That wasn't looking promising with the monster that towered over everyone that had shown up to join the fray.

What she wouldn't give for her pistol right about now. Mass accelerator rounds fired at high speed would shred that thing to pieces, so barring that, she had to slow it down enough for the rest of the people to kill it from all sides. To her mind, the Ogre posed the greatest danger to the group.

Carver stupidly charged it before she or anyone else could stop him and he paid for it with his life as his sword was blocked on one of the metal bracers the beast wore before Carver himself was grabbed in one of the Ogre's giant hands. Cassandra heard the sickening crunch of bone as Carver was squeezed to death before being tossed to the ground hard enough to leave a dent where he fell, never to rise again.

Everyone was understandably shocked as the sudden loss sunk, but thankfully Arya was able to rally them for one last push against the Darkspawn horde. If they were to die, they were going to do it standing up and fighting to the very last. If it came to that, Shepard planned to go down fighting to the last as well, but she'd be damned if she died here if she could help it.

She was a survivor, and if it meant she was the last one around then so be it.

Rage at the loss of life gave fuel to her biotics as Shepard stopped the Ogre from charging her and Bethany down by ensnaring it in a powerful Stasis field. It couldn't move a muscle while it was trapped, which gave everyone free reign to hack it to pieces.

Arya was the first to take advantage as she stabbed into the creature's back and climbed her way up the giant beast, using her daggers as hooks to pull herself higher and higher. Each time she needed to go up a bit more, she'd stab it in the back again higher up before repeating the action until she was at the creature's thick neck.

Shepard couldn't hold it for much longer as Bethany covered the Adept with whatever strength she had left as well. She could feel her amp heating up fast as she pushed the device to its limits, but thankfully she didn't have to feel it shatter from critical overuse as Arya sliced open the Ogre's neck from ear to ear, spilling its tainted blood in a hideous spray frontward.

The moment she knew it was dead, Cassandra let go of the Stasis she had trapped it in and watched it fall forward, Arya doing an elegant forward back flip as she jumped off of the falling behemoth and landed behind Bethany and Shepard a moment later. On her way down she killed two more of the Darkspawn, sinking her daggers into their skulls and dragging them down with her before she pulled them free a moment later as she stood back up.

Exhausted and feeling as if the back of her head was on fire, Shepard had nothing left as yet more Darkspawn remained, pushing the small band of heroes together. There was no end to the beasts it seemed. "Guess this is the end of the line for us." Shepard said aloud, wishing she had accepted the few advances she had gotten back in Basic now. Dying a virgin hadn't ever crossed her mind before until now.

Funny the things you think of as death stares you in the face.

"At least we went down fighting." Arya replied, a grim smile still on her face despite the fact they were all about to meet their ends. The Hawkes looked to each other, and again Shepard was struck by how tightly bound they seemed to each other.

She was going to die jealous of the one thing she didn't have anymore because of the attack on Mindoir.

They weren't going to die at all as a new creature made its appearance known in the form of a giant red dragon. "Please tell me everyone is seeing that thing." Shepard managed to say right before the dragon roared thunderously before swooping down upon the field, crushing several Darkspawn. The ground shook and burned as it took to the sky a moment later and made what eerily looked like a bombing run to Cassandra's eyes, scorching the ground with its flame breath as it passed.

More of the Blighted creatures died as it did. Landing amidst its own fire, the dragon tore apart the few that remained before it….she transformed into an old woman, her hair tied up similarly as the creature's horns had just been and dressed in strange armor from head to foot. Today was just getting to be too much.

Shepard stayed out of the way as Arya and Bethany went to where their brother had fallen, Leandra Hawke already there as she sobbed over her son's body. It wasn't her place, even if she wanted to comfort the older woman she didn't exactly know how. You didn't exactly take a class for comforting grieving family. There was one thing she could do however.

It would tax her amp but she was Alliance military, and no matter what, no one got left behind, living or dead. "I don't know how much of a comfort it will be to you Lady Hawke, but where I come from, no one gets left behind. As soon as we can stop long enough to do so…you could bury your son." Shepard explained as she lifted the young man off the ground and floated him close behind her for now until she had to gently put him down further down the road.

She listened to what the newcomer, Flemeth, had to say to the family. She saw that Flemeth had long since noticed Cassandra and her willingness to put her power to use for people she had barely met twenty minutes ago, not just in protecting them but also in allowing Leandra Hawke a means to put at peace one of her own as well. It was rare for such dedication, and even the 'old hag that talked too much' found it admirable if a bit foolish.

She saved Cassandra for last after speaking to Arya Hawke directly for most of her time there. "And now I come before the stranger to this land that is at war with itself and the Blight. Your arrival here was felt by me, Cassandra Shepard, and I suspect many other things less kind than I."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll come to know the meaning soon enough, but that is not important at the moment. You have a choice of your own to make my dear, and just as the Hawkes have their road to take, so do you. Your path will most likely intertwine tightly with theirs, but whether you become an avatar of peace, or ruin is up to you." Flemeth seemed to enjoy riddles and talking out of her ass to Cassandra's mind, but something about her words told the young Commander she would do well to listen.

"Do you ever give straight answers or do you enjoy blowing smoke? Wait….forget I said that." Flemeth laughed at Cassandra's comment, finding it rather amusing herself as she walked away to stand off to the side a bit.

"You aren't the only one to say something of a similar nature Shepard. My own daughter Morrigan has said as much as well. Be it as it may, we still have one matter to attend to." She let her eyes fall on the dying Templar. It was only then did Cassandra notice he was looking quite sick and not just weak from his wounds; he looked as if he had been poisoned by something. She wasn't too off the mark.

Aveline knew it but stood before the witch anyway, determined to defend her husband's life…however long it was at this point.

Cassandra learned about the taint that all Darkspawn carried in their blood, and it chilled her to the bone to know now that if it didn't kill you, it made you a monster. _Jesus. Not even the batarians had anything that bad. _She thought to herself, having to look away as Aveline was talked into ending Wesley's suffering before he either died a slow death or became something less than human.

She would never forget the sound of the blade entering Wesley's chest till the day she died.

"Without an end, there can be no peace." Some comfort, having to kill the one you loved, but Cassandra most likely would have done the same if the roles were reversed. Sometimes, death was preferable to the alternatives.

_Seeing innocent people being tortured and implanted with neural override devices for instance. At least those could be taken out and the person restored to their normal functioning state. _Cassandra's thoughts wandered back to the attack on Mindoir, and while she hadn't seen her parents fall, she had still seen plenty of death and the batarians taking slaves right there in the streets. The nightmares of such still haunted her from time to time.

As much as she wanted to, she couldn't mentally carry two bodies behind her. Shepard was able to talk Flemeth into carrying Wesley however as Cassandra still 'carried' Carver's remains behind her as they all ran for Gwaren. It took the better part of two days before they reached the city, but at least they had a very powerful witch on their side now between them and the Darkspawn.

Once they reached the safety of Gwaren, they had just enough time to bury their dead with help from the few Templars that remained in the port city and Carver and Wesley were given the peace they deserved. Tainted by Darkspawn blood or not, Shepard had meant what she had said.

No one got left behind.

The next two weeks, Cassandra Shepard learned a great deal more about the world she had suddenly been thrown in while she managed to keep most of her own past hidden. Considering she had been throwing up and was seasick for most of the trip, it wasn't that hard to keep herself a secret to the people she had fallen in with.

It sounded like she had fallen in a fantasy rich world, although she had long suspected as much it still boggled Cassandra's mind to even think about the things she had seen already. Then to have it confirmed by Arya and Bethany when they weren't comforting their mother just made it harder to bear, but bear it she did eventually. She would have to if she wanted to make it through this.

Her clothes she had purposely disposed of the first chance she had, finding a similar outfit from a recently dead woman that hadn't made the trip. As much as she hated to do it, Cassandra doubted that the folks in Kirkwall would be friendly to Cassandra if they ever found out what she was, and standing out like a sore thumb wouldn't help matters.

Her old clothes had disappeared over the side of the ship, never to be seen again, and it was probably for the best that they remained that way. Only three people knew the truth and they weren't going to tell anyone she had stolen from the dead since she had saved their lives.

"I never got to thank you, for helping us Cassandra Shepard." Leandra said as they approached Kirkwall's gates. Cassandra was in front of a wall, her own personal puke bucket at her feet as she groaned weakly since they were still on the ship, but thankfully it wouldn't be for much longer.

"You don't have to. I made it pretty clear that I wasn't about to leave you to your fate if I could help it." Cassandra replied, glad for the distraction as she turned to face the old woman who had since aged ten more years given her recent loss.

"It still means a great deal to me, more than you could guess to have been able to put Carver at rest." Leandra replied, tears forming in her eyes again although these were ones of gratitude and thanks as well as grief.

"I'm just glad I could help Lady Hawke. You deserve at least some peace given everything your family has gone through." She might not be able to emphasize with her completely, but Shepard was learning all the same as she put a hand on the old woman's shoulder.

Arya watched it all and said nothing, glad to see their mother coming to terms with everything although she'd never forget how the old woman had blamed her for Carver's death. She couldn't blame her mother for thinking so, but it still hurt. She looked away and appeared to have only just gotten there as she walked towards Bethany.

"You need to forgive Arya, Lady Hawke. She did a lot more than you might realize." Shepard said as she let her hand fall away from Leandra's shoulder, having seen Arya standing there the whole time. Leandra could only nod but she couldn't bring herself to do it yet. The shock was still too recent.

"I'll…try Cassandra. And please, just call me Leandra. You've more than earned the right to call me by name after all you did to help us get here." Shepard nodded, willing to give the old woman the time she needed while accepting Leandra's request to address her by her first name alone.

"I'll try to remember Leandra." Shepard replied, giving a small smile until she felt her stomach do another flop and she barely made it in time to the bucket in front of her before she spewed again. Somebody was having a good laugh at her expense she was sure.

A half hour later, the ship had since stopped in Kirkwall's docks. Kirkwall, the City of Chains. As glad as she was to be on solid ground again, Shepard didn't feel safe here. Something felt…off about the city before her.

Kirkwall, the City of Chains. The name would become quite fitting in the days to come for Shepard and the Hawkes.

It didn't take long for them to realize that no one was being let into the city as Aveline pointed out, and it didn't surprise Shepard in the least if things were as bad as she had heard and seen for herself since appearing in Thedas. It still made her angry enough to want to tear the guards apart and force their way through, but luckily it didn't come to that as it seemed that Leandra had a relative in Kirkwall, someone called Gamlen.

Before they got that far, a small group of armed men did what Shepard had been considering when they took the affair entirely the wrong way and tried to force their way through the guards. The former Commander sighed heavily as another fight, this time with normal people, broke out.

Her amp had long since cooled off as the dozen armed mercenaries all attacked at once, or they tried to as suddenly five of them were lifted into the air before they knew what was going on. Bethany took advantage of Cassandra's Singularity and destroyed them with a well placed Fireball while Arya and Aveline took on their own respective opponents.

The knight's shield smashed into one man's face, shattering his jaw before she plunged her sword through his neck while his defenses were wide open. Pulling it free with a sickening squish, Aveline had since deflected another man's dagger and pummeled him as well with her shield before removing his head with a swing of her sword.

Arya had at the same time disappeared in a puff of smoke and appeared behind an enemy. Before anyone knew what had happened, his head had since fallen to the dirt before the rogue among them was already on one of two archers that had started firing into the group. Evading by flipping over the archer in question, the man didn't have time to react as he was stabbed from behind, two dagger points coming out the front of his chest a moment later.

That left the leader who Shepard was glad to contend with as she kicked his sword free of his hand with a forward flip before landing on her feet. Before the merc leader could go for a dagger he kept in his boot, Cassandra had since caught the sword by its hilt and pirouetted on her feet, the sword aimed for the man's chest. He never knew what hit him as they faced each other, his own sword buried in his chest up to the hilt.

Cassandra met his glazing eyes as death took him before she pulled her new sword free with a vicious yank and a foot planted on his stomach as she kicked him away. She'd claim the sword's sheath when she was sure things were calm enough to start searching the dead for anything they could use.

The captain of the guard was quite thankful for the help while chastising his own men for being late to the party. Cassandra stood to the side and silently watched events unfold since it was again a family matter alone. Aveline felt the same way to some regard since she soon had company.

"I never saw anyone fight as well as you and Hawke, Serah Shepard. Your strange magics combined with your fighting style are a deadly combination." Aveline was impressed, but when asked where she had trained, she was disappointed that Cassandra wouldn't share.

To Cassandra, it might as well been a whole other life since she had become a part of Thedas and all of its problems both big and small. But she did give Aveline something since they had become friends, of a sort. "Let's just say that it was a lot further than you've ever imagined Aveline. My home is like nothing you've ever dreamed."

"Alright, keep your secrets, but one of these days I'll get a straight answer from you." Aveline said in turn, making both women smile since Cassandra honestly looked forward to the day that she trusted these few friends she had come to know in the past two weeks with her past, but for now she kept her Skyllian Five cards close to her chest.

It took three days to arrange for him to be found and brought to the Gallows, but the moment she saw the man, Cassandra immediately thought of Councilor Udina. The physical appearance wasn't there perhaps, but his way of handling things was in line with the human ambassador since it became quickly apparent that unlike Udina, Gamlen had made a grab for power and failed quite miserably. Losing the family fortune and the estate being the worst of things.

His reasoning for it however made a strange kind of sense. The Hawkes were understandably upset, especially when it became apparent that while Gamlen had a means to get them into the city, they would have to become mercenaries for hire for a year before they'd ever get a chance to do anything else.

Cassandra almost broke Gamlen's neck at the mere thought of hiring herself out to the very people that had destroyed her life ages ago, but one look at Arya, Leandra, Bethany, and Aveline stopped her from doing anything rash. Besides, it wasn't like she could do anything else to get into Kirkwall.

Besides that, Aveline proved more reasonable than Cassandra would have guessed for a knight such as herself. She had always thought them honorable and unwilling to work for such scum but maybe she could learn a thing or two from the older woman. "And what about me? I won't have others incur debts on my behalf."

"As much as I hate the idea of working with mercenaries I have to agree with Aveline." Shepard said at last, interrupting Gamlen before he could say anything.

"I can't see that it matters, you both look like ladies who can pull their own weight."

"Then you'll come with us, both of you." Leandria replied, pleasantly surprising Shepard and Aveline both. Her tone of voice didn't allow for argument anyway and besides, Cassandra wasn't about to since she had learned long ago to never look a gift horse in the mouth.

As much as it made her guts roil at the idea of working for mercenaries, smugglers, Shepard owed the Hawkes for helping her out in this new world as much as they had. She had sworn she'd see them through whatever happened to fall in their path for helping her in turn. It wasn't like she could go home anyway as far as she could tell so she had to make the best of things. She had gotten considerably lucky to have found the Hawkes when she had then.

Maybe living in Thedas wouldn't be as bad as she had originally feared.

* * *

_A/N The first chapter is through and things have changed already. I might not agree with certain things our government has done in the past, but I will say that I still support the troops and thus the motto the U.S. armed forces use was put in this for that very reason. My cousin recently got out of basic and it never occurred to me before to think of this until now with Carver's death being a turning point for part of DA 2. Being able to put his body to rest I figured would help as one of many things that are bound to change for the rest of the story now with a Shepard walking Thedas. ;D_

_Don't worry, the rest will still be epic but that small tribute to our boys and girls in uniform I felt needed to be included. It just seemed right was all. Anyway, no more political talks that aren't necessary, and those that are will be strictly DA 2 related, promise. ;D_

_I just hope that the fight scenes were believable was all thus far. I took the time to research both sides to things although I have played both considerably. Every Act will see an increase in Shepard's overall power in biotics I figure so Act 1 could be considered ME 1 level of power if you will. I don't plan to do every single mission, but the more interesting ones for sure such as the fight against the dragons in the Bone Pit for example. ;D Anyway, see ya around guys and gals!_


	2. Ch 2 Kirkwall, City of Opportunities

_A/N I plan to do every loyalty mission for every party member because I love the allies you collect along the way. Beyond that, some of the side quests will also likely follow, but every main story quest, the closing act ones for the most part, will also be the ones I do. Beyond that, if you guys and gals have requests and I get enough repeats for one in particular, I'll be happy to do them as well. Anyway, hope you enjoy!_

_Addendum; Quests this chapter will hopefully include Friend in the Guard and Birthright. I know Friend in the Guard is mostly just talking to Aveline but then it goes off to the whole ambush and corrupted guard issue so I just figured to knock em both out at once. ;D Next chapter will include more recruitment and/or side quests/loyalty missions, etc. As I said, I'll take requests for any that you guys want to see real badly but a few I plan to do regardless since they are my personal favorites of the bunch. ;D Adios!_

_ADVISORY WARNING; Renegade Shepard is set loose near the end of this chapter. Not for the faint of heart. You have been warned. ;D_

* * *

**Ch 2. Kirkwall, City of Opportunities.**

It had been a long year and many times Cassandra Shepard had been tempted to pull the plug on the elven woman's entire smuggling operation. Still, the only thing that stopped her from doing so was two things. The first was that the elven smuggler kept her word and never dealt in slaves or flesh of any kind, and two, Cassandra owed Arya and her family too much to ruin their only chance to get into Kirkwall properly.

In that year she had been able to stick around despite being busier than she'd like to get to know the Hawkes better as a whole, she and Aveline managed to get into the city guards. It wasn't the Alliance marines by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly felt better than doing nothing. It certainly felt good to be doing honest work for a change. That, and she and Aveline had since started to wonder what the deal was with some of the higher ups. Cassandra wondered if there was more going on than was obvious, and Aveline shared the sentiment since something just didn't seem right.

At least the beds were nicer than they had ever been on an Alliance ship, that and there was a lot more room to breath in the Viscount's Keep. The location of the guard barracks made it quite easy to run patrols in and out of the massive stone fortress that marked where the real power of the city resided and not just the pompous nobles that populated Hightown.

That wasn't to say Hightown was beautiful, it truly was and it often times reminded Shepard of the Citadel in a way, especially the Presidium, minus the Keepers and the exotic aliens of course. The air of superiority the people held above their more common neighbors was also easy to feel when she was forced on patrols through that area of the city. Even the guards that protected them weren't spared the same treatment most days, but when they needed something they were quite respectful of course.

It made Cassandra's blood boil some days, the way these people treated each other just because they had the money and influence they were born into rather than earned, like the Hawkes for example. Not to mention but the Elven Alienage was a poor excuse for a place to live for the elven population. She had seen slums that had better living conditions than that place.

That wasn't the only thing on her mind however.

Rumors of something big coming up, a possible ambush for merchant travelers was what all the clues pointed at, but there was more to it than met the eye. They had also been shoved off to some dead end patrols together so that was something else that bugged the two women to no end.

Something that Kirkwall had since revealed to Cassandra; never take anything at face value. All the back room dealings and backstabbing politics had since made that lesson sink in hard for both of the guardswomen. Still, at least they were in a position to change things for the better if they played their cards right.

Cassandra leaned against the wall in Aveline's office, dressed from head to foot in a light variant of the standard issue guard uniform. It provided some protection yet allowed Shepard the freedom of movement she favored. The sword she had taken as her own a year ago was still strapped to her hip, and she had since learned a few new tricks she was able to put into practice during the year she had been in Thedas.

The first was that if she focused her biotics enough, Cassandra had found that she could wreath her blade in dark energy, making it a very dangerous instrument of death since she could 'enchant' the blade temporally in any number of mass effecting fields.

For completely destroying shields, armor, and the men underneath, she used Warp. For speed she lightened the blade with Singularity, or rather a variant thereof. When she was really in trouble she had since managed to tune into her biotic power enough that she had since learned how to Charge about the battlefield, becoming a blue blur of unstoppable force as her sword sliced through anything that got in her way.

That last one though was for last resort situations where no other option was available to her. The reason being because she was normally pretty exhausted when she did and her amp was at risk of exploding the back of her skull.

Of course, if she was ever without her blade, she had still practiced with shrouding her limbs with the same dark energy that she manipulated as easily as breathing. She also kept up with her military grade CQC as well, even teaching Aveline a few moves which she had since used in her swordplay. She rarely used her biotics these days in a real fight for fear of being discovered for what she was; a stranger to Thedas, but Cassandra had still found a means to train in secret all the same.

All in all, her old COs would be proud of her for adjusting and keeping up with the tenets of the Alliance military. The few times she had seen action while out on patrol, Shepard had since earned her small squad of soldiers' respect as a very capable commander. Only once did they suffer serious injury but considering they had been outnumbered two to one and still managed to wipe out every slaver they had come up against, the day had been quite well for the guards and Shepard herself.

No one had been left behind to rot, and the one person that had died had been their idiotic commanding officer, Shepard had immediately taken over since even before the botched raid, she had earned her comrades' respect.

If not for Aveline being there however, Shepard wasn't sure if she would have gotten out of that mess alive.

Aveline carried everything that was standard fare for a woman in her position. She was a walking tank, perhaps not on par with a Templar's full plate, but Cassandra wasn't about to take a chance even with her biotics to try to take on Aveline and her sword and shield. She had seen what the woman was capable of first hand enough times to know you didn't cross swords with her lightly…except perhaps for training exercises.

"What do you think Cassandra?" Shepard was taken out of her memories and blinked stupidly for a second, having missed Aveline asking her anything.

"Sorry Lieutenant, I was remembering good times." Aveline chuckled and shook her head in amusement.

"Your definition of a good time is up for debate Shepard. I asked what you thought of getting Hawke in to help us." She repeated, and Shepard immediately knew where Aveline's mind was going. They were allowed to hire outside the guards as long as those they were hiring were competent enough. Arya Hawke had proven quite competent even at the beginning of their servitude induced debt no thanks to her uncle Gamlen.

By some small miracle Cassandra had yet to snap the weasel's neck although he deserved it for the trouble he put the Hawkes through. Technically what he STILL put the Hawkes through since they were forced to live in a fucking hole in the wall for a house these days down in Lowtown. At least it wasn't in Darktown but it might as well have been. She and Aveline had long ago assigned people to keep an eye on Arya, Bethany, and Leandra Hawke since they cared for their friends, and if trouble decided to knock on their door unannounced then they wanted to be there for them.

Besides, Cassandra had done some digging and had found a few interesting facts out about Gamlen that the family didn't know that she planned to deliver the first chance she got. Aveline had yet to figure out how Shepard had done it since they had been both pretty busy per Jeven's orders, their superior officer. It was Jeven that made Cassandra's skin crawl the most since something about him rubbed her the wrong way. It felt like he was hiding something big.

"I think it's not without some merit Aveline. Should I send the message or just spy on her as usual?" She teased, earning another shake of her current CO's head for her trouble. So when Arya appeared with Bethany and a dwarf rogue on her heels a moment later, both Shepard and Aveline were pleasantly surprised.

"Hawke. We were just talking about you." Aveline said, her small smile clear on her face as Shepard got off the wall and soon stood beside her Lieutenant a moment later, crossing her arms over her chest as a smile of her own appeared on Shepard's face.

"Cassandra and Aveline both in the guards together. I'm surprised you two haven't chased everyone off by now." Arya teased, smiling widely to see her old comrades again and doing quite well by all appearances. Shepard just smirked and shook Arya's hand firmly in her own, glad to see the young woman also appeared to be doing well.

"Hey Beth, long time no see for you as well. You've been keeping her out of trouble I take it." Bethany giggled behind her hand and nodded to Shepard's comment before speaking a moment later.

"It's a full time job but someone has to do it."

"Bethany." Arya pouted playfully, smiling despite the teasing she was receiving from all sides. Aveline hadn't truly felt at home until that moment, and it did her heart some good to be among friends as these.

"Heheh, it's nice to see you have such good friends around you Hawke. How do you do? The name's Varric Tethras, at your service." The dwarf bowed at the waist, no easy feat since he was half everyone's height by Cassandra's estimates. "You must be Cassandra Shepard I heard about on our way here. And Aveline the flamed haired knight from Feraldan."

"Have you been singing our praises to everyone you meet Hawke?" Aveline asked, earning a smirk from Arya herself as she conveniently looked elsewhere.

"Just the ones that help me and mine get on the Deep Roads Expedition, Aveline." Arya replied, her eyes twinkling with amusement although Shepard could tell that she hadn't been entirely joking either. She knew how badly she wanted to get Bethany in the clear and the only way to do that was to get a large sum of money and some influence in Kirkwall, both of which were needed to hold back the Templars for any length of time.

Ah yes, the Deep Roads Expedition that both guards-women had heard about. With the Blight ended there was not a lot of room to enter the Deep Roads before the Darkspawn took over the underground dwarven thaigs again. Now was a perfect time to do so and with the untold riches that were possible to find down in those ancient caverns, it would set Hawke's family up for life if they played their cards right.

"Be careful of Bartrand, he's a son of a bitch." Aveline replied and Cassandra could agree if what they had heard about Varric's brother was true. Varric chuckled since he could agree but he also had something to say on the matter.

"That might be true but he's not about to do anything stupid, especially with me around to keep him straight. Sure he'd sell out our own mother for a profit but he's not so bad once you get to know him."

"He seemed rather cheerful to me, especially with Varric speaking on our behalf. It also might have helped that we promised to invest in his expedition as equal partners." Arya replied, having never lost her sense of humor despite the year of indentured servitude to that smuggler they had all worked for. At least some things hadn't changed in the end.

"Well regardless, how are you, really?" Aveline asked, and Arya and Bethany lost their respective smiles as they stepped a bit closer to the knight and Shepard. Varric was wise enough not to interfere and kept his mouth shut, no easy feat for him.

"It's been hard, seeing mother living in that hole with our uncle Gamlen." Bethany started and Arya could only nod in agreement. "I just wish there was something we could do to help her."

"I believe there is." Cassandra replied, drawing both Hawkes' attention at once. "Aveline can confirm this but I was able to do some digging. It seems your uncle fell into debt with some rather unscrupulous people and ended up selling your estate to a bunch of slavers. They've been using the old wine cellar as a passageway in and out of the city to transport their 'cargo.' During one of my patrols through Lowtown I caught your uncle on his way to the Blooming Rose and 'persuaded' him to tell me the truth."

"Is that why he had a fresh set of bruises? He said he had fallen down a flight of stairs." Arya smirked, not at all upset that Cassandra had gotten the truth out of him. "He wasn't happy for at least a week but he wouldn't say why. Now I know and it just made my day." Cassandra smirked despite the frown that had formed on Aveline's face.

"Incidentally, he did fall down a flight of stairs."

"More likely you pushed him Shepard." Aveline countered, and Shepard couldn't help but sigh since maybe she had taken things a little far but it was too late to change it now. Besides, to her mind the bastard had had it long in coming.

"From what I've seen of the weasel, he had it coming." Varric interrupted, earning Aveline's ire instead a moment later as the red haired guardswoman let her gaze fell on the dwarf. "What? He's lucky that wasn't all she did to him. If it was me he'd have likely been missing a few teeth and probably a hand. The Merchants Guild doesn't take well to people like him." Varric replied cheerfully, deflating Aveline's anger but not by much.

"I've been tempted to do it myself to tell the truth, but I can see his side of things as well. Still, that doesn't make it right either." Arya countered, and Cassandra sighed since she had heard the story before although from the source she had gotten it from, it didn't paint a good picture of Leandra at all.

"So what exactly happened?" Varric asked, having heard of the Hawkes by reputation but he hadn't heard much more than the fact they had gotten out of Feralden at the beginning of the Blight. Personal history wise he had only just met the two Hawkes and hadn't even been introduced to the mother, but he figured if he hung around long enough he'd get the chance at some point. "I might be a compulsive liar and a story teller but some things I know to keep to myself."

"It's reassuring to hear that." Arya replied, shutting the door behind them before sighing heavily since this wasn't an easy topic for either of the Hawkes. Bethany especially after a recent conversation between Gamlen and their mother, and the rest of the party could see it for themselves. "You know that our mother married a mage and had three children by him, myself, Bethany, and…Carver. We already had magic in our line so no family of good standing would ever marry into ours for that very reason."

"Love is love and let only fools try to break it apart Hawke. Personally I could care less if you were the Queen of Feralden, let alone an apostate mage there Sunshine. When you have the Merchant's Guild breathing down your neck, who's got time to worry about apostates?" Varric said, trying to add a bit of humor into the room which had grown considerably tense and melancholy all of a sudden.

Bethany managed a weak smile at Varric's nickname for her but it didn't help relieve the weight on her shoulders. Arya put a hand on Bethany's shoulder, drawing her attention elsewhere and the young rogue offered a warm smile to her beloved sister. "Varric's right, but as I was saying, our uncle Gamlen was forced to look after our grandparents while our mother had gone to Feralden with our mage father, giving up everything she had here. They had a farm in Lothering and they were happy despite everything."

"Apparently they had died angry and Gamlen had said as much and it's made our mother's already depressed state that much worse. She…she told me she wished she had died with Carver." Bethany managed to say, and Cassandra had heard more than enough to have made up her mind about what she was going to do about it.

"Hey, listen to me Bethany. I don't care what might follow, your mother deserves to be happy again and if we can make it happen, then I'm prepared to clean house, so long as you and Arya are as well." Arya didn't have to be asked twice as she nodded and put an arm around her sister's shoulders while Shepard gently pushed the girl's head up with her fingertips on her chin. "So cheer up Beth, we'll make this right, somehow."

"Shepard's right Bethany. Your mother and yourselves did a lot for us, it's time we returned the favor. Afterward you can help us out with a few problems we've been hearing about possible ambush in the making if it makes you feel better." Aveline offered, earning a stronger smile from Bethany who had a moment ago been near tears. Shepard let her hand fall and took a step back, glad that the young mage was smiling again.

"Sounds good enough for me, and if this goes well enough then maybe there'll be some good news, such as the will that Gamlen left at the estate." Arya piped in, and Bethany's fire returned since she had forgotten that part. Gamlen had admitted to leaving the will behind, stating it was old news but the way he said it made the Hawkes wonder if he hadn't been hiding something from them. Now they were going to find out.

"There's an entrance in Darktown, through the old wine cellars that ran under the estate. We'll start there." Arya's voice carried no argument since that seemed the best place to make their assault. Shepard agreed but she looked to Aveline, silently asking permission to go with them.

"I don't see a problem with it Shepard. I need to stay here and find any more clues as to the possible raid on the merchant caravans but when we're ready to put a stop to the thieving, I'll fill you in with the details later. Good luck, all of you." Aveline said before turning to the pile of reports at her desk.

"We'll see you later Aveline. Go on ahead; I'll catch up you three." Arya said as she remained behind to talk to the guardswoman alone while Shepard, Varric, and Bethany started ahead for Darktown.

* * *

"Everyone stay still and try not to make any loud noises." Varric said as they came across a trap on the floor the moment they entered the massive wine cellars that were part of the Amell Estate. He quickly disarmed the trap and started whistling a tune after pulling his hefty crossbow off of his back. Shepard shook her head in amusement at the display, having since tried to ask how Bianca got her name only to be met by a rather humorous dismissive comment from the dwarf in question.

Not that they had time to talk now anyway as enemies poured out of the other rooms in the cellars and tried to take them down. Shepard and Arya took point as they always did while Varric and Bethany stayed in the back, unleashing bolts and spells with devastating accuracy. Crossing blades with slavers always did Shepard's heart a world of good since her own loss at the hands of the same type of scum back home.

Tearing them apart limb from limb always put a spring in her step. Remove an arm here and a head there, it was always a smashing good time for her. Varric had never seen her at work before and so the first man she met had his sword deflected before his head exploded when Shepard's right hand, shrouded in blue energy, impacted with the slaver's face with enough force to make it pop like a grape.

There was only one thing that Varric could think to say to such a grizzly display of force. "And the trend of you scaring the piss out of me begins." Varric said as he turned and fired off a bolt into another man's leg, pinning him in place before he took a second shot that ended the bastard's life a moment later, the crossbow bolt having found its mark between the slaver's eyes.

Arya had since taken two of the slaver's down with a flurry of dagger strikes, dissembling the men before they even had an idea she was among them. Bending back as easily as any willow wand as a rogue like her tried to take her head from her shoulders on his way by, Arya turned gracefully on her foot, hooked her arm around the man's neck and yanked him down hard with her right hand dagger in his chest as they both fell to the floor. Rolling to her feet, she was back in action as smoothly as any panther.

Bethany had since waved her staff before her and a dozen ice spikes sprouted out of the ground, flash freezing three slavers where they stood before she backed up a few steps and fired a fireball into their midst, killing two and seriously wounding the third. He didn't survive for long as he was flash frozen again and shattered into a thousand pieces.

"That was beautiful! How many have you got Hawke! And damn Shepard, remind me never to get on your bad side." Varric said to both of the women, shaking his head in amazement as he followed behind the group as they explored the cellars further. They were after the will, but cleaning the slavers out of the area was just a bonus.

"Don't worry Varric, I only use my full skill against slaver scum like these bastards. For everything else I just let you and the others handle it." Shepard teased, but Varric didn't need the encouragement she'd find out.

"'Shepard said in a teasing manner.' Seriously though, you'll have to tell me someday where you learned to fight like that, it saves me the effort of having to come up with the details myself."

"I can tell where this is going." Bethany replied, unable to suppress a laugh at the banter between the dwarf and Cassandra.

"You and me both Bethany." Arya added, glad to see everyone getting along and it brought a smile to her face anyway to be having such a good time overall. Cassandra just shook her head in amusement again as they found a few new enemies to contend with, a mage leading them no less. Looked like they had a challenge for once.

"Guess we might have a fight on our hands for once." Arya smirked as she pulled her daggers again and twirled them through her hands, hearing them whistle before she went for the nearest of the group. The archer in question never saw her coming as she disappeared in a puff of smoke and had since removed his arms on her way past after appearing behind the man. She quickly pulled the dead archer around to take two more shots to the chest by his compatriots before kicking the dead man into their midst, making them fall where she stabbed them both in the chest before going for other targets.

Bethany and Varric had to run forward as a ball of electrical energy appeared where they had been standing. The mage in the group had put it there and now he was cowering behind a magical barrier of his own. Shepard growled as she had since tried to break through the barrier only to find her biotics were ineffective against it, but she did notice that the mage had to take a step back from how powerful her punch had been. She had to dodge to the right at the last second however as a rogue appeared behind her, trying to slice her back open as the bastard flipped back, his blade leading.

If not for her quick reflexes, Shepard knew that she would have been in deep trouble. She was about to retaliate but the rogue that had tried to literally stab her in the back had since been flash frozen by Bethany, and Varric finished the man with a well placed crossbow bolt to the chest which shattered him where he stood. "Nice shooting you two!"

Varric grinned as he turned to the mage next who had since exhausted his ability to hold up his barrier. "When's the fighting start? Bianca's starting to get bored!" Varric tossed a quiver of arrows into the air and watched as the bolts rained down on the mage. Somehow the man survived but it was by the skin of his teeth as Arya and Shepard closed in for the kill. A blue enshrouded blade traveling faster than it had the right to swept clean through the man's middle while Arya took the man's head on her way by.

The mage didn't know he was dead even as his body parts hit the ground. "And the trend of you two scaring the piss out of me begins." Varric said as a point of fact, shivering since even he hadn't expected such a quick and bloody finish even if the man had deserved it.

"Oh I don't know, it could have been worse." Bethany spoke up, earning a wry grin from Varric.

"And that's why I call you Sunshine. You're always so cheerful." Varric replied cheerfully as well, unable to help himself since he had taken to Bethany quite well after only a couple of hours of being in her company.

"Let's find the will and get out of here. I need to get back to Aveline to help clear out the thieves in Sundermount." Cassandra said, smiling widely despite the blood and gore that decorated all of them by that point. She wasn't going to bother cleaning up since she figured they'd just get dirty again before the day was over with.

Finding the will was easy after finishing the small group of slavers. Dealing with Gamlen when they got back to Lowtown was not nearly as easy for Shepard but luckily Arya and Bethany handled things well enough. Varric and Shepard remained outside while they gave the uncle a verbal lashing he wasn't soon to forget. It turned out that the Hawkes' grandparents, Leandra's parents, hadn't died angry after all and had left everything to Leandra's children. Gamlen had been left only a stipend, to be controlled by Leandra herself.

Where she came from, that kind of unlawful behavior would have been more than enough for Gamlen to be put behind bars for the rest of his days, however long that might have been given his age but that was besides the point as Bethany shortly pushed the weasel out of his own home. Incidentally it was right into Shepard's arms.

"You…." Gamlen never got to finish as Cassandra kneed him in the groin and watched him crumble where he fell in a heap on the ground at her feet.

"Damn, that looked like it hurt." Varric chuckled; glad that someone had decided to put the old fart in his place. "Today just isn't your day gramps. I'd suggest finding another family to ruin. Let's go Shepard, I want to introduce you to a few friends at the Hanged Man."

"Go on ahead Varric, I'll catch up in a second." Shepard replied, grinning wickedly at Gamlen as she made a show of cracking her knuckles. "I have a few words for this scumbag."

"Suit yourself, but as much as I'd like to nail him to the door of his own house, I think he might do some good yet so leave him alive if you can help it." Varric said over his shoulder as he wandered off to the nearby pub in the Lowtown district.

Shepard had simply wanted to scare Gamlen as she dragged him into an empty alleyway and slammed him against the wall of an empty house. "Listen to me Gamlen. I'm only going to say this once."

"Shut up….you….gaaaaaaaaaaah!" Shepard had slammed her fist into Gamlen's stomach to shut him up. She let him cough and sputter until he could see straight again before slamming him up against the wall again, dashing his head against the stone for good measure.

"If I so much as hear you making life miserable for Leandra or her family again in the slightest sense, I'll break every bone in your body, one at a time. Do I make myself clear?!" She hissed dangerously low, and Gamlen could tell she meant her threat as he thought he saw a blue shimmer overtake her eyes for a moment before it disappeared. He had hit his head pretty hard so he probably had a concussion to add to his battered balls and stomach. Cassandra didn't know that she had allowed a spark of her biotic power to escape her control as she tossed Gamlen to the ground away from her.

"YES! Damn you woman yes I understand just fine!" Gamlen shouted back, terrified of the woman who towered over his prone form.

"Now start running before I change my mind and start at your feet and work my way up." Gamlen didn't have to be told twice as he took off as fast as he was able, but considering it felt like his testicles were in his throat he didn't get far fast. He didn't have to worry however since Shepard had since seen Arya, Bethany, and Varric walking around the corner and Cassandra joined them a moment later as if nothing happened.

Varric had since clued into the fact that Cassandra had fallen in line with their group again and acted as if nothing amiss had happened with Gamlen as he started talking to Bethany about their new birthright that had been reclaimed. Cassandra was thankful for the dwarf's discretion since she didn't want it known she had taken Gamlen aside for a little one on one time. "So... Milady Sunshine, what's your first act of noblewoman going to be?"

Bethany was practical, and had a practical answer to Varric's question. "A noblewoman with no fortune and no title? Looking for work, probably."

Varric retorted with obvious mirth in his voice, having a ready answer as he always did it seemed. "Practicality is for peasants, my lady. You need to do something frivolous to celebrate your birthright."

Arya could practically hear her sister's curiosity in her voice without having to look behind her to see it on her face as Bethany replied simply. "Such as...?"

Varric chortled before continuing his strangely convincing argument; Cassandra had seen enough nobles in her position as a guard to know he spoke the truth of the matter as he continued. "Come up to the Hightown Market and complain bitterly that there's no Orlesian silk that matches your eyes.

As always Bethany had a practical question in answer to Varric's comment. "But what if something does match my eyes? What will I do, then?"

And as always Varric had a ready answer to share, his worldly experience having no bounds it seemed which just made Cassandra and Arya like him all the more. "Insist that they're blatantly copying you, and demand royalties. A good noble always has a complaint ready, Sunshine."

"When you're quite done flirting with each other can we get to the Hanged Man for a quick drink before moving on to the Viscount's Keep, preferably before the sun goes down by chance?" Arya asked and Cassandra had to chuckle behind her hand at that.

"And miss a chance to ply my trade Hawke? Not on your life." The dwarf chuckled as he led the way to his favorite part of Lowtown. The only place he actually liked about Lowtown if anyone asked. So far no one had. A pity really.

* * *

It was shortly after a beautiful and very deadly rogue of a woman had effectively disarmed three men she had paid for information by beating them without any visible effort on her part did the ragtag group meet Isabella, formerly Captain Isabella. Cassandra immediately took a liking to her even if it was shortly found out she was a pirate; a pirate with a code of honor even if she did look out for herself first and foremost.

Still, Cassandra figured it could have been worse, and besides, Isabella was very attractive, and the pirate knew it and wasn't afraid to strut her stuff either. Arya made the mistake of asking about her adventures and got quite an earful about her time with the Hero of Feraldan and the Grey Warden Alistair….before either had risen to fame as the heroes they were now.

"I was in Denerim before this, and let us just say that the Heroine of Feralden was quite…flexible as to the people she took to her bed. This was before she ended up happily married to Alistair mind you but her, an Antivan Crow by the name of Zevran, a 'cloistered' sister of the Chantry, and me wound up in the same room together in the Pearl. Only one of us got out of that room still standing, and it wasn't me." Isabella sighed in contentment, and Bethany had since taken a refreshing drink out of her flagon only to sputter at the images that Isabella had conjured up.

"I think I am going to die of embarrassment now." Bethany managed to say, her cheeks flushed to show her obvious embarrassment. Isabella just laughed heartily as she seemed to swagger over to the young mage.

"Ah did I make you blush? You're quite cute, but enough of that. I have a problem someone of your skill could help me out with. I arranged with a duel against an old…friend from my past. His name is Hayder, and I expect he won't play fair, so I need someone to watch my back." Isabella replied, and Cassandra and Arya both couldn't help but find it rather intriguing.

"I think I can manage watching your back." Arya replied, unable to help a small grin form on her face and despite her own misgivings about the pirate simply because she was a pirate, Cassandra also liked the idea. She and Bethany both were still virgins after all if her blush from earlier was anything to go by.

"I bet." Isabella countered, grinning subtly as she looked to Shepard. "And I see you looking at me with those eyes of yours. I can't say I've ever seen eyes like yours before, where are you from by chance?"

"Good luck getting a straight answer Rivaini, I've heard talk of others trying to figure that out and they have yet to receive a straight answer." Varric interrupted before Cassandra could say anything. She tried to glare at Varric but wasn't able to keep her facial expression as she felt a smile form on her face from the intended humor.

"He's right though Isabella, I don't like to share easily. Still, get me drunk enough and that might change." Unlikely but she had to give Isabella something to look forward to. Varric just chuckled while Bethany continued to blush and tried not to sputter and cough into her cup again.

"I'll definitely keep that in mind. The duel is in Hightown, after dark. Meet me there and we'll get this done and over with." Watching Isabella swagger off, Varric, Bethany, Arya, and Cassandra couldn't help but follow her out the door before turning back to each other, each with different things on their minds.

Varric was honestly curious how many tales of passionate love affairs and fights aboard her ship the pirate had had, among other things of the sort. Bethany was wondering if she'd be able to talk to Isabella without wanting to run for cover out of embarrassment. Arya and Cassandra both found her attractive for different reasons, but they both were curious about her….exploits both in and out of bed before remembering they had actual business to take care of.

"I need a bath after all the fighting today Arya. I'll see you tomorrow if not later tonight." Cassandra said, breaking whatever 'spell' Isabella had cast over them all, still a bit weak in the knees after the whole eye comment earlier. Few people ever took notice and the first one that did here in Thedas had to be a pirate. Oh well, beggars couldn't be choosers. "Besides that, Aveline's probably worried that I haven't reported back yet."

"See you later Shepard. Guess I better take these two to help Isabella with her duel, but when we can we'll find you later tonight if you're still up and about." Arya replied while Varric and Bethany offered their own goodbyes as well as Cassandra left the Hanged Man, a spring in her step despite being a bit wore out from today's excitement already.

Luckily the barracks back in the Viscount's Keep had a wonderful steam heated bath for the guards. After a long and bloody day out on the roads in and around Kirkwall, many like Cassandra always took time to soak and relax before cleaning their equipment thoroughly before turning in for the night. It was a very good way to unwind for someone as task oriented as Cassandra who didn't feel right just sitting on her ass.

Besides, she had a lot to think about anyway, until Captain Jeven got to her before she made it to the baths. "I was just looking for you. The duty roster was changed today. You're to patrol Sundermount." Jeven handed her a heavy satchel to boot and immediately Cassandra was suspicious. Something didn't seem right about all this at all. She smelled a trap but with Jeven watching her she couldn't approach Aveline without raising his suspicions further. Well, she'd just have to hope and pray…there's a thought she hadn't considered in a long while, that she'd make it through whatever it was that was waiting for her up on Sundermount.

"Yes sir." Was all Cassandra said, but Jeven saw something in those blue eyes of hers that made him take a step back. Before he could say anything Cassandra had since walked off, loosening her sheath for her sword a little so it'd be easier to draw in a pinch. She had a feeling she was going to need every advantage she could obtain before this was over.

* * *

Sundermount was the tallest of the Vinmark Mountains that protected Kirkwall from the north. It was a common route between cities that merchants traveled, and patrols were sent out there regularly. It was no secret that all manner of ill willed people also made the area their home, but it was also home to the occasional Darkspawn creatures as well as passing Dalish Elves. The Dalish Cassandra had long since learned were a noble and proud people even if their current lot in life were to be considered second class citizens to the rest of Kirkwall's people.

In Feralden, their lot in life was far better if the stories of the Heroine and King Alistair were anything to go by. News traveled slowly in Thedas, one thing that bugged Cassandra to no end, so information wasn't easy to attain across continents. Still, at least they got news at all.

That aside, she had to figure out why she was carrying this satchel and what was in it. She wasn't an idiot and followed orders blindly like some, and Cassandra's natural curiosity most likely saved her as she reached the base of the mountain and searched the satchel. "Son of a bitch."

Inside were schedules for the guard patrols, who lead them, their numbers, everything thieves would need to make life difficult if not outright impossible to stop them if they got their hands on the information stored within. And since she had been chosen for the duty, she wasn't supposed to make it back most likely, and if she did, it wouldn't be in one piece. At least, that was most likely what Jeven was hoping for.

"Well today just isn't your lucky day asshole." Cassandra growled in the back of her throat as she tied up the satchel again and found a well hidden spot to put it while she contended with the party that was most likely waiting for her. She'd deal with them, and then deal with Jeven with Aveline by her side. He wouldn't be getting out of this with his head if she had anything to say about it.

It didn't take Cassandra long to find the edges of their perimeter which was higher up the mountain's east side. She was a ghost among them, observing their numbers from the shadows while preparing to take them out one by one until and if she was caught. The more she could take down silently, the better her chances would be in the end. She was good but she wasn't invincible by any means.

She did wish she had a wire camera on hand as she chose to hide on the edge of a cliff that was below the base. She was just tall enough to be able to peer over the edge without being seen.

She wasn't bothered by heights; N7 training had taken care of that since part of their exercise routines including scaling a vertical wall without any ropes or safety gear of any kind. Be prepared for any situation, and N7 didn't fuck around with their recruits. 20 hour days were Hell for some and broke those not prepared for the intense training, but Shepard had thrived at everything thrown at her.

This was just another exercise course….with the risk of real injury and the possibility of a horrible death to worry about; no pressure or skin off her nose.

When she was sure she wouldn't be heard, Shepard climbed up and quickly ran to a nearby rock that oddly enough if she turned her head just looked just like a turian's face. Huh. Hearing one of the thieves coming to her position, Shepard waited until he was standing by the edge to take a leak before she sprung up behind him and snapped his neck with her bare hands before slowly lowering his corpse to the ground so he didn't make any noise. Dragging him behind the rock, she looked over and saw that no one was the wiser.

One down only twenty one to go.

It was going to take some time but since Jeven didn't expect her to come back Shepard had time to spare. Aveline however would probably come looking for her if she didn't hurry so she'd have to be careful she didn't take TOO long lest the guardswoman wound up walking into the same trap she had almost done herself.

Pulling out her sword that she hadn't been able to clean with being so busy, Shepard sighed at the state of the metal which was still covered in the blood of her enemies as she stalked the rest of the men that had been waiting for a lamb to the slaughter and had instead gotten the wolf on the hunt.

Finding another fellow that was talking to another member of the raider group, Cassandra waited until they started to walk away from each other before striking, burying her sword in one's chest while 'pulling' the second towards her human shield. He didn't even have time to scream as he was impaled on the same blade and died a moment later alongside his former friend.

One man going missing wasn't too worrisome. Two was coincidental at best, but when five people disappeared without any apparent reason, that was when the bandit leader started to worry. Someone or something was hunting them down, and it wasn't until he found two of his men dead on the ground, impaled by the same blade from appearances did he begin to truly fear for his pathetic excuse for a life.

A scream from the north side of camp only added to his fear as he heard the sickening crunch of a man falling to his death from on high. His fear was well founded as he saw one of his men he had stationed on a cliff overlooking their ambush spot having been pushed off of that same cliff. What was left of him didn't look healthy in the least. The fact he hadn't died upon impact although by all appearances he should have since he had bits of bones sticking out of every part of his body only added to the terror welling in his innards.

"G…g….blue….ghost. Thr….Thrown….like….ragdoll." The man managed to spit out before expiring at last.

Part of Cassandra's tactics were to scare the raiders shitless, and given the shouted commands and the obvious fear behind them, she was doing a damn good job as she plotted her next strike on their remaining numbers.

She had been a fan of the old Predator movies growing up, and despite being technically a little too young to be watching such a series, Cassandra had a very wicked idea to see if she could do something similar as the Predators had been portrayed in doing in the movies, with her own sadistic twist thrown into the mix of course.

The leader of the raiders didn't know when the man standing beside him had disappeared, but when he turned around he came face to face with his corpse, hanging upside down from a tree branch that was sticking out of the side of a cliff face. He had been flayed alive, stripped of every centimeter of flesh. He fell back in shock as he felt liquid warmth fill his pants, realizing that he had just pissed himself. The man didn't much care as he backed up as fast as he could on his butt, unable to get the image of the man's horribly disfigured corpse out of his mind's eye.

What he didn't realize was that he had been flayed alive by Cassandra's mind.

It wasn't until she had reached ten that she slipped up, stepping on a bit of bark that snapped almost as loudly as a gunshot. Since then the few that were left had become aware of someone butchering them from the darkness but had yet to find the one responsible, so the sound of her misstep was enough for the ten that remained to find her quite quickly and surround her on all sides. "YOU! You're the one responsible for killing us off like an assassin, too afraid to fight us head on?!" The apparent leader shouted, surprised that she had been able to do as much as she had by herself.

He had no idea what he was up against but he was too blinded by rage to care. Cassandra didn't say a word to the stream of curses that followed. When the man had to stop for breath, Cassandra's blue eyes seemed to flare brightly with rage of her own as she held out her right hand and 'grabbed' a hold of the thief standing to the leader's left. The next moment his skin had been ripped from his body to pool at his feet like discarded clothing.

He had his answer to how it had happened and the few that were left didn't want to face such a powerful Abomination, but they weren't given a choice as Cassandra fell upon them like the Devil itself. When it was over, Cassandra was panting and wheezing, her blind and animalistic rage finally dying off as she realized what had happened here. Some point during her sneaking about, she had given way to the side of herself that had somehow survived Mindior. It had wanted blood, and blood it had gotten.

Flemeth's words made a lot more sense now, and Cassandra was understandably spooked by the death she had wrought out here.

* * *

_A/N Word of advice, you don't want to piss Shepard off. ;D Even I hadn't planned to show just how dark the survivor part of Shepard's psyche had become but being betrayed by scum like Jeven apparently set that part of her off. Being thrown to the wolves like that, yeah, definitely wasn't healthy, and while I had planned for her to be considerably Renegade ish in her dealings against scum like the ones waiting to ambush and slay the guard normally sent up to Sundermount, I'm like Varric in that I have no real control over where the story goes. I just uncover it and let it take shape on its own. ;D_

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest and I promise it won't be nearly as dark…it'll be worse in other ways though. :P See ya!_


	3. Ch 3 Duels, Apostates, & Corrupt Guard

_A/N This time around, Fools Rush in, the rest of the problem involving the bastard Jeven, and if things go well, meeting Anders and going through Tranquility, with a few twists along the way. ;D Enjoy!_

_As a side note, I checked Dragon Age's wiki material regarding quests and I had forgotten that you technically can't get Isabella until you help Anders out first, so I'll try to check to be sure I don't screw things up further if someone decides to complain, but I almost think this might work out better in all honesty. ;D_

* * *

**Ch 3. Duels, Apostates, and Corrupt Guards.**

While Cassandra was working her way to Sundermount, Arya, Varric, Bethany, and their new friend Isabella were preparing for the duel against Hayder. Unfortunately, Isabella's warnings about the bastard proved all too correct as they were surrounded by hired muscle. Fighting in Hightown at night, who would have guessed it? It sure wasn't the first time since every part of Kirkwall had murderers, thieves, bandits, and more wandering the streets, looking for an easy mark.

Unfortunately for Hayder's merc friends, they didn't know how dangerous their opponents were.

Arya had to admit, she didn't like this Hayder since he had indeed tried to fight dirty. Too bad, it was wasted coin since his men were all scattered across Hightown's streets, many of them in several pieces. "Guess that proves that your 'old friend' Hayder is a bastard after all." Isabella smirked slightly but shrugged as she faced Arya, equally covered in blood from their fighting so far. They had more to do yet, but it was a good start.

"I told you. Guess its Hayder's loss and our gain though since these idiots hadn't the time to spend his money." Isabella replied as she looted several of the dead mercs for every bit of coin and valuable items she could get her hands on, smirking a bit wider as the woman she had asked to help her with this duel followed the pirate's example.

Arya found a blade on one of the dead mercs, and instantly recognized it from the Black Emporium. "Hello Desdemona's Blade. You'll make a nice gift to a friend of mine." She smiled, hoping to repay Cassandra's kindness to her family in whatever way she could. She owed the mysterious woman a lot even if said woman hadn't shared much of her past with her or her family, yet Cassandra had gotten every one of them to open up to her. That was the way of it though and while it did slightly bother Arya that Cassandra knew so much about her family, she knew the woman could be trusted without question.

How she knew Arya couldn't say, but that was the impression she got, especially after Cassandra's willingness to carry Carver to Gwarem even though he had since passed on….no thanks to that damned ogre.

"A sword for a friend? Kind of a crappy gift if you ask me." Isabella observed, making Arya's mind to return to the present before she could dwell on it overly long.

"She's worth it. She helped me and mine get to Kirkwall to begin with from Ferelden, when the Blight began and we were forced to flee." Arya replied, none of her usual humor present in her voice which Isabella noted as she grew serious a moment later as well.

"She's a good friend to have stuck by you so long. Keep her close Hawke, friends like that are hard to come by in this world."

"That almost sounded profound there Rivaini." Varric said in turn with his usual wit, unable to help himself. Isabella managed a little smile, wishing, and not for the first time, that she had those she trusted beside her then. Her ship had gone down and she was alone again. She hadn't had anyone she had actually loved or anything but friends were hard to come by for the pirate. Part of it though was her own fear of growing attached; too many betrayals, too many lost friends, and too many people that had been looking out for their own.

Still, she was a survivor and hadn't gotten this far by being sentimental. "Search the rest of the bodies, there's bound to be something we can use to help us find Hayder."

"Aye aye Captain." Arya replied in her usual teasing manner, the memories and the pain they brought with them behind her for now as Bethany soon found what they were after, although she looked a bit sick doing so given the mess of the fellow she was kneeling beside.

"I…think I'm going to be sick, but here's something Isabella." Bethany said as she handed the note over to the pirate who read it over quickly before crumbling the piece of parchment in one hand. "I take it he's…close?" She had to stifle a gag as she stood and looked away from the dead merc to Isabella's face alone. She had seen battles before but she doubted she'd ever get used to the aftermath. The thought of getting used to dead people scared her more than a little though.

"He's close. Hiding in the Chantry of all places. He's going to pay for this." Isabella growled as she turned her gaze back to Bethany, seeing just how close to being sick she was. "Are you going to be alright precious? I'd hate to have to watch you get sick from a few dead mercs."

"I'll be fine! I've killed Darkspawn by the dozens and they didn't bother me." Of course Darkspawn were no longer human so that made a difference. Not much of one but it was enough as Bethany's eyes blazed with new determination. Isabella had read her like a book, Arya realized, and was glad of it since while she hated to put her sister through combat, she also needed her here since they needed all the help they could get.

Besides, she trusted Bethany far more than most. Arya wanted her to be able to handle this since it was a necessary evil, but on the other hand Arya often did wish they had had a normal upbringing without the constant need to fight for their right to live.

Isabella had pushed the one button that Arya couldn't bring herself to do and had gotten Bethany back on her feet in a sense. She looked to the pirate but found she had since run on ahead. "She doesn't wait around for much does she?" Varric said as they gave chase.

"No she doesn't. Oh well, onward and upward right?" Arya replied, earning a grin from the dwarf and a small smile from Bethany as they made their way to the Chantry. Heading up the stairs to the church, devoted to Andraste and the Maker, mostly the Maker, they were attacked again by another wave of Hayder's mercs. Isabella had already engaged them but with Arya, her sister, and Varric behind her, the mercenaries didn't last long under their combined skill.

"I figure your death toll nears natural disaster levels, especially if you keep this up Hawke." Isabella smirked as she kicked the Chantry doors open before her. Arya shook her head at the rather loud entrance but there was nothing for it now.

The Chantry, like most of Hightown, was beautifully decorated but even Arya who didn't mind being in church back in Lothering, was a little unsettled by how…repressive this place felt. Lothering's Chantry had felt inviting, but to Arya's mind Kirkwall's was anything but. Something about the high ceilings and the gray walls always made her feel unwelcome and perhaps even a bit scared. The old Grand Cleric was always welcoming and inviting perhaps but she was one of the few people in Kirkwall's Chantry she talked to whenever she came here during the day.

Despite all that, it seemed the place was empty since no one but the enemy present before them was greeting visitors, and these people were heavily armed. Not Templar armed but it'd still be…problematic if they weren't careful. Still, the thought of battle against the likes of Hayder always put a spring in Arya's step. Tonight's fun would be well justified she'd find out.

"Isabella, I should have known you'd find me here." Hayder immediately reminded Arya of a few scumbag mercenaries she had slain during her stay in Kirkwall. Full of himself, arrogant, and always thinking he'd come out ahead until his plans fell apart. Men like Hayder were loyal and perhaps cunning at times, but they never foresaw everything since they didn't plan that far ahead. Just like now. A smart man would have had his men burn all the evidence as to his location. Something Isabella was quick to point out.

"You should have had your men burn the letters." Isabella retorted, no trace of her usual humor present in her voice as Arya and Varric flanked her, Bethany behind covering their backs as more of Hayder's troops made their appearance. They were almost sorely outnumbered for once, a fact Arya was quick to notice but it didn't bother her much. Their opponents so far had been relatively easy; besides, she didn't plan to die in church.

She didn't plan to die at all but that was beside the point.

Hayder didn't seem to pay much mind to Isabella's words as he continued running his mouth, revealing quite an interesting fact or two along the way about the pirate's past exploits. The short version was not pretty in the least.

The long version would be no better but they didn't have time for it at that moment.

The short story was that Isabella had lost a shipment of 'cargo' which had turned out to be a large number of slaves. Isabella had freed them after getting a bad feeling halfway through the trip as she escorted the ship in question. To repay Hayder's boss, Castillon, she had to bring them an item simply called the Relic which she had lost as well due to her ship sinking. Most of the people on board hadn't made it.

Arya wasn't happy about the slave bit but she was happy that Isabella had done the right thing in the end. Trying to reason with Hayder proved useless, but Arya was in a way glad since she didn't deal with slavers or those who associated with them willingly. Isabella might have been on the wrong side of the law, but at least she had honor and she reminded Arya of the elven smuggler she had worked for the past year.

Those thoughts were for later though as they were quickly surrounded after Isabella pulled a knife out of nowhere and threw it at the woman to Hayder's immediate right. She was dead before she hit the floor.

Hayder was the toughest of the lot, but they first had to clear out his men before they could get to Hayder himself. Arya had all she could handle as she engaged three men in front of her, deflecting sword strikes and dodging other attacks altogether. Her dance with her daggers was impressive as she sliced one man's throat when a gap appeared in his defenses before letting her lead foot lash out against the man to her immediate left, knocking him back before she turned the rest of the way while dodging a thrust from the front before burying her daggers in the offender's chest and stomach.

The man Arya had knocked down had since been pinned down by Varric and his lovely crossbow Bianca. Before he could get up, Bethany had since frozen the fellow stiff, letting Varric shatter the man's body where he lay.

Three down only ten to go.

Isabella meanwhile had since engaged a few enemies of her own. Arya was a competent warrior, able to deal out damage relatively quickly by deflecting enemy strikes and countering before they could get their defenses in place again. Isabella didn't bother to block, she simply seemed to know every move her enemy made and simply wasn't there to receive the hits. It was like comparing a blind drunkard to a graceful dancer, with Arya being the blind drunk. Despite being up to their necks in trouble, she was slightly jealous at the pirate's skill which made her own look quite pale by comparison.

She had admitted to liking duels, and Arya could see why as Arya backstabbed an archer before he could fire on her sister. Hayder was losing men left and right and had yet to join the fight, letting them wear themselves out she figured as she evaded another thrust, turning the blade with her left hand dagger which only helped to create a bigger gap in her latest opponent's defenses before she opened his guts all over the floor at her feet.

With the pressure off of their right flank, Arya took a moment to observe Isabella's handiwork.

_Maker she's impressive. _Arya thought to herself as Isabella ducked elegantly under an overhead swing before repeatedly stabbing the man's exposed right side, letting the man fall in the path of a second warrior's arrow before using him as a stepping stone to launch herself up to the second floor of the Chantry. From there she cut down the man that had been foolish enough to shoot at her before closing the distance to a third in the space it took Arya to breathe half a dozen times.

The latest opponent didn't even have time to blink as Isabella ran by, opening his throat as she passed before she vaulted over the second floor railing and landed behind Hayder who had only just realized he had ran out of men as Varric and Bethany finished the last of the group off. "Bloody idiots!" He cursed, turning in time to get Isabella's dagger in his stomach. If he hadn't have turned, she would have killed him quickly, but instead he had had to turn just before she had impaled him, making his end a tad bit slower.

Oh well.

A quick turn of her wrist had her free dagger taking his throat out before she kicked him free of her blade. "Well that was exhilarating." Clear sarcasm dripped off of her sultry voice as surely as Hayder's blood dripped off of her knives as the group looted what they could from the enemies.

"So…what did Hayder mean about the slaves, Isabella?" Arya asked, glad she had gotten a break but she wanted more information. Isabella had been about to speak but Hawke had beaten her to it. She saw the beautiful if blood covered pirate sigh heavily as she replied.

"I checked the ship after I got that bad feeling and ended up finding nearly two hundred people from Ferelden. Men, women, elves, children, it was disgusting. Castillon had promised them safe passage away from the Blight, stole their money, and had sold them all to slavery. I killed the crew and freed them all the first chance I got. Now Castillon wants the Relic in exchange which is supposed to be worth my weight in gold. I guess killing me would be letting me off easy."

"It could be worse Isabella. You could already be six feet under." Isabella had to smirk at Arya's sense of humor. Something about her always made the pirate smile even if they had only just met essentially. "Still, if you need this Relic to get Castillon off your back, then I'll help you. Besides, I get the feeling your company will be entertaining."

"I like you Hawke. I think I'll stay in Kirkwall a while and see where this goes, but if you do find anything about the Relic I'd appreciate any help I can get. I have a room at the Hanged Man if you'd like some 'company' later." Isabella's smile suggested more than the word itself somehow as the pirate wandered off. Arya had to shake her head in amusement as she followed behind.

She needed to check on Aveline and see if Cassandra had returned from whatever trip the guardswoman might have sent her on.

* * *

Shepard had not been this severely injured before in her relatively short life. She hadn't known at the time of her initial 'reawakening' to the world around her after the slaughter she had committed on Sundermount, but it quickly became apparent as pain radiated from a gash in her left side, right below her armpit. How she hadn't died yet was a miracle of its own as the horse she had managed to wrangle from the raiders' camp gave an almost dismissive snort at the city they were heading towards.

She had been able to bind the wound, but the bleeding was slow to stop as she felt her vision blurring around the edges. She needed help badly. What she wouldn't have given for a pack of medi-gel at that moment. As she rode onward, she started to hallucinate from the loss of blood she had endured already, seeing old memories she had tried to bury long ago. Unfortunately it was not to be, especially after what had transpired in the encampment.

_She had been sixteen when the raiders came. Herself, two brothers, a golden retriever, and their loving parents had been happy despite their parents being away more times than they were home. Cassandra had been the oldest and thus the one responsible for the rest when John and Hannah Shepard weren't around. With her biotics and some skill even then in a number of CQC disciplines taught to her by her father, she was more than capable to do her simple job of safeguarding the house most days._

_Mindoir had been a farming colony; a beautiful place and one she hadn't ever planned on leaving anytime soon. Its gently rolling hills, somewhat cool weather perhaps even in the summer months, and the stunning vistas offered by the mountainous terrain that surrounded the colony were more than enough incentive for Cassandra to want to remain until it was all taken from her. Her two younger brothers Jessie and Alex were fifteen and fourteen respectively, and they had looked like miniature versions of their father._

_John Shepard had been tall and physically imposing, but he was a gentle giant unless roused to anger. Short black hair that had a tendency to look tousled no matter what he did with it and piercing green eyes that always seemed to shine with barely contained mirth had been set in a rugged face that was warm and inviting to look upon despite its appearance._

_Her mother was where she got all of her looks from, including her capable mind, but it was her father that she got her heart from, a fact that had never been lost to either. Cassandra was proud of them both regardless and had been told many times she got the best traits from both of her parents._

_It had seemed like any other day, her two brothers playing fetch with the dog while she watched silently from the kitchen, shaking her head in amusement as she prepared an afternoon meal. Their folks had gone into town for business with the local defense forces. She didn't know then, but that was the last time she'd ever see them alive again. She had been blissfully unaware of what was to come._

_They only knew there was trouble when the sound of bombs hitting the ground was heard on the edge of the colony, where the Shepards had settled shortly after Mindoir had been founded. Cassandra had been warned many times that since they had settled on the unstable edge of the Verge, it was best to be prepared and the family had gone through many potentially safe places they could hide if it came to such. It seemed those practice runs into the wilds around Mindoir was going to become useful, but her brothers had other ideas._

_Instead of running, they ran forward, having always been stubborn and willful like their mother at times. Cassandra tried to reason with them but they would have none of it. And since she was still learning about her biotics, she couldn't forcefully drag them behind her to safety as much as she wanted. Besides, more than a little part of her had wanted to try to find their parents anyway._

_They never got close._

Cassandra jerked straight in the saddle when she realized she had been slumping slowly forward in her confused state. She groaned weakly, having somehow gotten the horse turned towards the entrance to Darktown, the lowest part of Kirkwall that anyone could fall. It seemed rather appropriate since she hadn't felt worse in her life, and it wasn't just the physical pain she was thinking about either. The hallucinations brought back the emotional agony she had since long buried she thought, only making things worse for the Adept that was far from any home she recognized.

She was going to die out here if she didn't get help soon. Weary from battle, covered in filth, and bleeding out on a damn horse of all things, how had things gotten this bad? Shepard tried to focus and dredge up any useful information she had gleamed about Darktown, and then came upon a desperate idea of seeking a healer she had heard about. A Grey Warden who had come from another part of Thedas shortly after the Blight was over. That was all she knew for certain, but it was enough to give her at least a sliver of hope for her continued existence.

She started to feel her concentration slipping again when she fell rather than climbed off of her horse, somehow finding the strength to stand before all but crawling her way towards where she hoped the healer's clinic was.

_It had taken almost an hour to get near the colony proper, a trip that would have taken half the time if not for all the batarians running around. Untrained biotic or not, Cassandra was able to kill three of them on her way forward, somehow overpowering the bastards before the batarian raiders took them down. She had since passed along the spare side-arms that the batarians had on their persons to her two brothers, both having learned how to use them from their father but she truly hoped that they wouldn't have to._

_Killing was never easy the first time, something Cassandra had yet to process given her own fresh kills that day, but defending your loved ones had given her the strength she needed to carry through._

_The fact they were still going forward rather than running away like most people was bad enough, but despite it all her brothers wanted to continue, and as before, they wouldn't listen to her in the least. She should have knocked them out and dragged them away that way, but again love for their parents stayed her hand as they foolishly continued forward._

_Cassandra never saw the sniper as she tripped over a loose rock and managed to avoid getting shot herself, but her youngest sibling wasn't so lucky as the mass accelerator round passed clean through his chest and out the back. It was quick; one second he was standing and the next he was in a pool of his own blood. Cassandra was stunned into silence but not inaction as she dragged the remaining boy into cover just as another shot hit the ground where they had been standing on a moment ago._

_They had taken shelter inside a warehouse, realizing too late they had been herded into a trap._

Cassandra jerked awake once more, somehow having walked slash crawled the entire time towards the clinic. She could see it now, the lantern that was rumored to hang above the door, lit as if a guiding beacon to the wretched and the downtrodden, promising hope and safety behind the simple wooden doors. She didn't care much for the imagery her mind had conjured up, but any port in the storm was better than nothing at this point.

Thankfully she had coin to spare but from the rumors she had heard, the man in charge of the clinic didn't accept money for his services. She felt a particularly violent stab of pain in her side when she stumbled and couldn't get herself to stand again. Cassandra was on the edge of her endurance and she could go no further. Luckily she didn't have to as someone came out to dump out a waste bucket only to see her laying in a growing pool of her blood.

"Anders! Guard outside needs help!" The aid shouted as the man did his best to carry Shepard inside, the mage healer in question already preparing for yet another patient. It wasn't the first time he had treated one of Kirkwall's guards, but he didn't make a habit out of it either.

"Here, lay her here. On three." Anders commanded as two more people came to his aid in lifting the woman who was pale as a ghost onto a simple table made of stone and a rather hard leather matt covering the top. The blood trail outside his door was proof of how far she had come for aid. The miracle she had gotten through Darktown unmolested was not lost on him, having a good guess as to whom this woman was that was on Death's very doorstep. "Let's get this armor off of her fast, see how bad the damage is."

Most of the blood on her person was quickly discovered not to be her own, but the wound in her side looked deep to Anders' eyes which glowed faintly with a power few could begin to comprehend as he prepared to heal the ghastly wound. He needed to close it up as much as possible before she bled out completely before he could even think about getting the rest of her body cleaned and bandaged up.

His eyes flared brightly again as he drew out his healing magics, bringing to bear what he had learned before leaving the Grey Wardens, bringing a Fade spirit along for the ride all the way to Kirkwall from Ferelden's shores. After the Blight and the unusual uprising of the Darkspawn after the Archdemon had been slain by the very Grey Warden that had taken Anders under her wing, (something that should have been impossible given what he had heard about how any Grey Warden that killed an Archdemon normally died,) he had fled as far from their order as he could.

Kirkwall had been the logical choice since there was no outpost of Wardens out this far.

That aside, Anders concentrated solely on the task at hand, seeing the wound closing before his eyes. He had to stop before he exhausted himself, but the damage looked much more manageable now and could heal on its own with the proper care. "Get…fresh bandages made and clean her up as best you can. I need…a moment." His loyal aids didn't need to be told twice as one helped the mage to a chair while the others did their best to tend to the rest of Cassandra's care.

If the rumors he had heard about her were true, then she might be just the woman he was looking for to help him with a friend who was trapped in the Gallows.

Cassandra Shepard was a well known opponent against slavery, and while she had yet to come into contact with the 'mage problem', evidence suggested she took even the slightest hint of enforced servitude poorly. Anders hoped that same hatred of slavery would be enough to translate into the problem facing Kirkwall when it came to how the city treated its magical population. Time and whatever events unfolded from here would tell how things went but if it worked out, then Anders would have his friend and the Templars would have one less mage under their 'care.'

When turned on her side, only in her under clothes now since her armor had been removed to tend to the rest of her possible injuries, did one of Anders' aids discover something amiss about this newest patient. "Um Anders? I think there's something you should see here, on the back of her neck."

Anders stood and went over to look at whatever it was the man was pointing at, only to be just as dumbfounded at what he saw. "What in Andraste's name is that?" The healer asked more to himself than anyone, having never seen a bio-amp before. No one in Thedas had but there it was, a thin strip of metal that seemed to be a part of the woman's skull, situated under her hair for easy concealment. If she hadn't been checked for further injuries, none of them would have found it.

Anders made the mistake of reaching for it….

_Cassandra and her remaining brother had walked into a batarian slave pit right there on her home colony. Dozens of people were being subjected to their cranial implant devices. The smell of blood and burned flesh was thick in the air and it made Cassandra gag as she watched in horrified fascination as one of her friends' necks were sliced open before wires and machinery were shoved up into the base of her brain through the gash that had been opened up with the surgical laser the batarian was using on her._

_Cassandra was too focused on the scene before her to realize that another batarian had reached for her from behind until her brother shot at the bastard, drawing the rest of the warehouse's occupants down on them. The one that had reached for her fell dead, having expected an easy fight only to realize too late that they were armed. Cassandra lost all rational thought as she lashed out with her unstable biotic power, crushing several batarians before one of them got her in a headlock and tried to remove her amp by force._

Feeling Anders' hand on the back of her neck made Cassandra jerk as she kicked out at the man out of instinct, not seeing the human but the same batarian that was trying to subdue her. Anders didn't need to be a blood mage to know she wasn't in her right mind as he threw a barrier around himself as he saw some kind of dark blue energy surround the woman's hands right before she started wailing on his protected form.

"Stop! I'm trying to help you!" Anders shouted, reeling from the powerful impacts that stopped as suddenly as they began. Looking through his shield, he knew why they had stopped as despite her weakened state, Cassandra was fighting off his aides who were trying to subdue her, but it quickly became apparent they were no match for her as she dismantled them one bloody punch at a time.

Her fighting style reminded the former Grey Warden of the Heroine of Ferelden since both had been as graceful as panthers on the hunt. The Grey Warden Commander, hero of the land after killing the Archdemon and surviving no less, and now it seemed the fates were having a good laugh at his expense by sending him a crazed woman who was just as determined to fight her way to freedom as the Warden herself in a way. Great.

_Surrounded by five batarian slavers, Cassandra stood her ground as one lunged at her with a knife in his right hand. He didn't get the time of day as she broke the offending wrist, yanked the blade free, and drove the point home into the bastard's face between all four of his eyes._

Daniel fell as she broke his wrist and smashed her own between his eyes hard enough to fracture his skull and mangle his brain with the bone fragments that ricocheted through the grey matter, killing him long before he hit the floor. Anders was stunned as he lowered his shield and concentrated a blast of lightning between his staff and his free hand. He didn't want to kill her. It was clear she was fighting demons from her past and they had superimposed themselves over those in the clinic as far as she was concerned.

_Four more remained but that quickly became less as Cassandra watched her brother be brought down when another of the batarians snapped his neck like a twig before marching on her, murderous glee clearly stamped on his face. She returned the attack, an elbow rush followed quickly by a right hook to the face, by blocking the offending elbow and grabbing the hand that was aimed for her face before she twisted it around the batarian's back as she flowed around him. She pushed so hard on the offending joint that she felt it pop out of place before she wrapped her own hands around the man's neck and twisted savagely to the left._

_It was only then did she see the Neural Shock coming her way. She couldn't get out of the way fast enough but she had a shield she could use to lessen the impact it would have on her nervous system at least as she used the dead batarian to absorb some of the attack's effects. Paralyzing pain still struck her at the Neural Shock's intensity, but she had lessened the effect by using the shield. She was still standing as the last two within melee range attacked her as one._

Anders hadn't been able to adjust the power of his lightning blast in time before he had fired it off, having not expected to see Cassandra use one of his growing number of dead aides as a shield. She was smart even under fire, but she was weakening, of that he had no doubt as two more of his aids attacked her at the same time. He had an idea and it quite possibly saved their lives as Anders shouted for them to stop.

The two men and Cassandra both stopped cold. Cassandra had only stopped because the memory ended since the batarians hadn't stopped until she had been six feet under a pile of batarian bodies as they crushed her under their combined weight in one last ditch attempt to knock her down for good. She clutched at her wounded side which had opened up again, and used the nearest table as support until her legs gave out and she fell forward, out cold once more as exhaustion caught up with her. Anders breathed a huge sigh of relief despite the fact he had a few friends to bury. He made a note not to mess with whatever that thing was in the back of her skull.

"A little more excitement than I'd like." Anders muttered to himself as he pulled a lyrium potion off of a desk he passed by to get to the woman once more before looking to the remaining aides he had on hand. Drinking the potion down, he gagged at the terrible taste but felt better as his mana was quickly restored to his person before giving orders to get her back on the table again. "This time let's avoid making her lash out violently shall we?" He said more to himself than his two helpers as they patched her up yet again.

* * *

Aveline had had a very bad feeling when she heard the news that Jeven had sent Cassandra off to Sundermount on a single patrol. She knew that the woman was a capable fighter, but something about it all seemed wrong. And since Jeven normally stayed in his office and locked it up tight whenever he wasn't around, it was impossible to search through his papers and notes for anything she could use against him as much as she wanted to.

She should have been back by now, especially since there was a shortcut between Kirkwall and Sundermount that shaved off a few hours of travel for those traveling on foot as Cassandra was known to do quite often. A single patrol didn't take well past sundown.

That had been hours ago and there was still no word, so when Arya and her latest companion showed up at her door, Aveline was very happy for the distraction. "Hawke, I think Cassandra's in trouble."

Most people would have been in a panic but Arya was calm despite the news one of her closest allies was possibly in danger. "Just point me in the right direction." Isabella and Varric looked to Arya and then to Aveline, Varric hoping that Cassandra was alright since he had grown to like the strange woman quite a bit while Isabella wasn't sure what to make of this personally but she wasn't going to leave her new ally high and dry if she could help it.

"Let's check the duty roster but I'm pretty sure she was bound for Sundermount. She was on a single patrol. I couldn't leave since Jeven has been acting strangely." Aveline said in way of explanation as she led the way to the wall that held that week's patrol schedule. A quick look through the list of names gave Aveline more than a little concern since there was another single patrol scheduled for that very night, a supposedly quiet walk through Lowtown. Donnic was the one heading that patrol. "Donnic. A good man. If this is another trap then someone is going to pay dearly for this."

"I'll take Isabella up to Sundermount and see what we can find there Aveline. You take Varric and make sure your friend gets through alright because as much as I hate to say it I think you might be right to worry." Arya replied, not wanting to disturb Bethany since she had gone home for the night after their duel with Isabella's old friend. She had been exhausted and while Arya was as well, the possible threat to one of her friends was enough to keep her on her feet as she pulled a stamina potion out and drank it down without hesitation.

She gagged at the taste since it reminded her of an old pair of boots cooked over an open fire, but at least now she had more energy to burn so she didn't end up passing out on her feet as she and Isabella ran out of Aveline's office and to Sundermount while Aveline and Varric ran off for Lowtown as much as she wanted to find her partner and friend herself.

* * *

It had taken them at least an hour to find their way to where the raiders had been setting up shop. Arya and Isabella both had seen their share of death, had taken many lives, (the pirate more so than the young Hawke at her side,) but what they found on Sundermount chilled even their considerable wills to the core.

"What in the Maker's name did this?" Arya asked barely above a whisper, seeing the carnage that had been left behind by an obviously very powerful opponent. Upon closer inspection however, Arya feared she knew what had happened as she saw the marks of blue enshrouded limb impact points, or rather, what was left behind when said limb hit a man's body. It was the corpses that had no skin on them that worried her since out of the time she had known Cassandra; she had never shown such a taste for blood before.

Perhaps she had been wrong to trust Cassandra with her back so willingly after all if this was what she did to those that crossed her so fully as these men obviously had? Arya never had the faintest thought to betray Cassandra for any reason, but something about this level of destruction unnerved the young woman considerably. It matched stories of Abominations, mages possessed by foul demons, and the horrors they wrought on man. "Please Maker; don't let Cassandra be demon touched after all this time." She whispered in prayer, hoping that there was a very good explanation for the slaughter perpetrated here.

"Arya! There's a trail leading away from the camp!" The pirate shouted and waved an arm across the way, finding hoof prints and indeed, a clear trail of red leading away from the camp. "She probably managed to bind the wound but it still bled. She might be in trouble. Are you sure you want to find her though?" Isabella asked but one look at Arya's face silenced any further protests. "Ok, it's your death if she has found a new hobby of skinning her opponents alive. I won't say I told you so if it happens to us."

"Then don't." Arya countered as she ran off ahead. Despite the clear and present danger that Cassandra might possibly pose now, she needed answers and if nothing else, needed to see her corpse before she'd believe that Shepard had fallen. She hoped that Cassandra was still alive despite the mess she had left behind. Despite the fact those men had deserved to die, no one deserved the pain they had obviously suffered before they had been sent to the void. Perhaps Cassandra had a reason to hide her past?

Arya was determined to find out and if Cassandra snapped, then as close as they had grown as friends, the young Hawke was reluctantly willing to end her existence to prevent this from happening to innocent people…provided she got the chance to anyway.

Isabella meanwhile wasn't sure if signing on with Hawke was a good idea if the evidence they had left behind was anything to go by for any future partnerships if they ended up the same way when they confronted this Cassandra Shepard. "I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong." Arya interrupted her silent ponderings as they ran the same way that the trail and horse prints led off. "Despite what we found, Cassandra never does anything without a damn good reason."

After having thought about her past experiences with the woman, Arya had come to that realization. Something had obviously upset her greatly, and now that the initial shock had worn off, the young Hawke suspected that it had something to do with her past and the recent events involving Jeven who was turning out to be as corrupt as they came if he had knowingly sent her friend into that ambush site. "I'll admit that the killing field we left behind was disturbing, even for her, but she guards her past well and I think it's because she has suffered more than any of us have realized. I trust her to be in her right mind when we find her again."

Isabella wasn't convinced but something about the way Arya said that made the pirate want to believe her, made her want to trust someone again. It would be a trait she'd find resided in Cassandra as well if Isabella got to know her well enough of course.

It would have to be enough for now as the two rogues ran back to Kirkwall with all speed.

* * *

Aveline and Varric had been in time to stop Donnic from being slain by more of Jeven's associates. Between the two warriors, it was a contested fight for a time but they won out in the end as Aveline's swordplay made short work of the fools before her while Varric kept the archers pinned down until they fell for good. When the fighting was over did Aveline finally help the slightly beaten guardsman to his feet, a look passing over Aveline's face that Varric would have sworn was fascination, possibly even a hint of desire which she quickly beat down before Donnic regained his senses enough to realize he had an admirer.

Varric filed that fact for later use in one of his many stories, then remembered Aveline scared the piss out of him and thought better of it. He instead listened to what had transpired to bring Donnic out this way and the evidence of how far Jeven had fallen.

In a heavy satchel that matched the one Cassandra had taken with her and had hidden away for later pickup only to drag herself to the healer in Darktown, was more documents containing patrol schedules, the seal of the Viscount, and other incriminating information that would see Jeven be sent to a deep dark prison cell in the Keep. Aveline would make sure of that if it was the last thing she did. She now just needed to find Cassandra to make sure there wasn't a death in the guards. After today she needed some good news.

Despite it being such a late hour, when they got back to the barracks, Aveline immediately got the attention of one of the Viscount's officials to see all the evidence she and her friends had gathered against Jeven before they went to his office. Varric got to see first hand what happened when you angered Aveline as she all but kicked down Jeven's door, a dozen of the Viscount's guards behind her to help oversee the arrest.

Jeven was understandably upset as he was dragged away. "Ferelden bitch! I'll see you quartered, hanged! This will not stand, you hear me?! You and that bitch Shepard will pay dearly for this!"

Despite exposing the corrupt guard captain for what he was, Aveline didn't feel like she had accomplished much of anything. Shepard was still missing and needed to be found. She feared the worst, as well as she should considering that it was quickly found out that Jeven had fallen with the wrong type of people and had been paying off his debts through his schemes with his own men, throwing them to the wolves while passing on important information.

The official she had gotten for the arrest dropped the news that she was to replace Jeven, in due course. The promotion might have been well earned, but Aveline had something far more pressing. "I'm honored you would think me worthy, but until I find a missing member of the guard, I cannot in good conscious take the offer."

"We'll look for her Captain Aveline." One of Shepard's loyal guardsmen offered, half the barracks having woken up thanks to Jeven's continued ranting. "You and her have done far more than Jeven ever did for us, it's the least we can do to repay your dedication to our safety." Aveline was taken aback. There were a lot of prejudice against Fereldens in the guard, but already it seemed that not everyone shared the sentiment.

"Then I shall let you take care of finding your missing friend Captain Aveline. Good day to you all." The official said, smiling quietly to himself since he had a very good feeling that this Cassandra Shepard was in good hands and would be found soon enough. "I expect you to finish up any business you have left Guard Captain. You are going to be very busy."

Aveline didn't hear the man's parting words, but she smiled all the same as more of her new men fell in, ready to begin the search for Shepard. Varric nudged her with his elbow since the guards were waiting for her orders. It wasn't official perhaps but they were willing to fall in line to their new captain, especially if it meant saving one of their own. "Alright. We don't have much time…"

* * *

_A/N Another chapter bites the dust and more is revealed about what happened on Mindoir and to Shepard's family. I even played around and managed to have Anders and his aides be in the middle of her memory and her defending herself against batarians, which of course were the unfortunate members of Anders' clinic. Poor woman will have more reasons to guilt trip when she wakes up lol. Joking aside, I hope this new addition is well received. Adios!_

_P.S. The rest of Tranquility, Bait and Switch, as well as a little story time from Shepard at last although whether it's the whole truth or at the least a partial one is up in the air. Enjoy!  
_

_And hey, I didn't forget the separation lines this time lol.  
_


	4. Ch 4 Tranquil Slavers

_A/N As promised, Bait and Switch, Tranquility, and story time from Shepard. Beyond that, I wanted to thank everyone that's followed, favorited, and reviewed already. It means a great deal to see people enjoying the show I've put together. Adios!_

* * *

**Ch 4 Tranquil Slavers**

Arya and Isabella had since returned from Sundermount and met Aveline and Varric on their way to the clinic. When questioned by the guardswoman, a few people made mention of a woman in guard armor heading to the clinic. "She looked half dead, should have been dead by all rights if you ask me, Ferelden dog." The man said out of hand and was met by a very intense and angry gaze from the guard in front of him. "Eh….don't mind me, just need to learn when to shut up is all. I'll be going now."

Aveline didn't chase the fool down, but it seemed that it wasn't just the guards that held old grudges against the Ferelden refugees. She shook her head and led the way towards the clinic, wondering if they'd find Cassandra alive, if not sane from what Arya explained about the former raider camp on Sundermount. Her hushed tone was more than enough to make the guard listen very intently since it was clear being overheard would most likely not be good for any of them.

Varric wisely kept his mouth shut about the affair while Isabella confirmed Arya's findings since it had been her that had found the blood trail that led them back to Kirkwall. "If she's awake we'll ask her then." Was all Aveline said in turn, hoping their worst fears didn't come to pass as Hawke pushed the door open only to be met by a very defensive Anders after he had helped another of his patients, a young boy.

"I have made this a sanctum of healing and salvation. Why do you threaten it?" He demanded, but Arya wasn't paying any mind as she rushed to Cassandra's side, seeing that she was still alive and well. Aveline was right behind her and she too was greatly relieved. Anders was thrown for a loop but he was quick to connect the dots that these were the strange woman's friends. "Um…I had this long speech planned out and now I don't even get to use it." He muttered to himself more than anything, feeling out of place all of a sudden.

"I'm sorry, it just that after today a bit of good news is exactly what we needed to hear." Arya said in way of explanation as she looked up to the healer. "You have my profound thanks for helping this woman, and to answer your question, we came here for her and not to cause you any trouble. I can assure you our intentions are good."

"We do require help in reaching the Deep Roads however. Word has it that you were a Grey Warden." Varric asked, earning a scowl from the mage before him. "Was it something I said?"

"Did they send you to bring me back? Well I'm not going back. Damn Blighters made me get rid of my cat. Poor Ser-Pounce-A-Lot, he hated the Deep Roads." Anders replied, earning more than a few puzzled stares, especially in regards to the cat he had mentioned. All of the women in the small group found that a bit odd but it was Arya that asked the question first that was on their minds.

"You had a cat named Ser-Pounce-A-Lot?"

Anders gave a small smirk at that before giving his answer, having quite a few fond memories of that cat which had been a gift, from the Grey Warden Commander no less, the Heroine of Ferelden, etc etc etc. "He almost got ripped in half by a Genlock once. Batted the bugger on the nose, drew blood too. The Blighted Wardens said he 'made me too soft.' I had to give him to a friend in Amaranthine."

Aveline and Arya both had to chuckle a little at that since it did seem a little odd perhaps, but somehow the image fit the mage before them. That aside, they learned more about the mage, which included a more or less summed up version as to why he had left with a bit of his usual humor thrown into the mix. The 'personal' stuff he kept to himself Arya wanted to know about but she let it go as Varric got them back to the business of the Deep Roads Expedition. He was happy for Cassandra's continued health but they did need the former Warden's help as well. It turned out that he needed something done before he'd help them.

Was that a going theme in Kirkwall? Everyone needed SOMETHING done it seemed and it sometimes annoyed Arya to no end, but it was good and mostly honest work so she couldn't really complain.

While they negotiated with Anders about his friend that was to meet them in the Chantry in a couple of days, Isabella kept on staring at the mage, trying to remember where she had seen him. She knew she had but she couldn't for the life of her figure out where at the moment. Oh well, she figured it'd come back to her eventually. She was the first to notice that Cassandra had since woken up but had kept her present awareness a secret.

Considering what they had seen of her handiwork, Isabella couldn't blame her for being cautious. No one tore apart people like that without some serious issues if they weren't possessed by a demon or something. Even the pirate had heard her share of Abominations and the like, so with the way her luck was going as of late it wouldn't surprise her if this Cassandra had become such a monster.

Cassandra had only heard one or two tales of Abominations and thankfully had yet to see one for herself; but she sighed heavily as she sat up slowly with a pained expression on her face, drawing everyone's attention. Arya had tried to keep her down but Cassandra brushed her hand away, knowing from the slightly fearful expression on her face that the Adept had some explaining to do. She looked to the mage and saw a mostly puzzled expression on his. "Thanks for saving my ass. I'm…sorry for attacking you."

"You remember? I had thought you were too far gone in whatever past you were locked within your own mind to notice. It's understandable, but I'm sure I'm not the only one here that wants to know why." Cassandra didn't have to look at her friends' faces to know Anders spoke the truth. She sighed and asked for some water, needing something to clear the dryness in her throat. Arya pulled a canteen off of her belt and Shepard was quick to put it to use as she drained the rest of the watertight leather bag's contents, groaning in relief as she handed it back.

"I realized after I heard you yell for us to stop and I started to fall because the memory in question didn't match up with events going through my head that I wasn't….where that memory originated." Shepard began, clutching weakly at her side the whole while until Arya sat beside her on the table. "I guess you found what was left of the raiders on Sundermount, so trying to talk my way out of that isn't going to be likely is it?"

"Hmmm, nope. Sorry Shepard but I find I need a straight answer from you for the first time since we met on that mountain pass, fleeing the Darkspawn." Arya was quick to reply, that humor filled voice still very much present which made Shepard's burden a little easier to bear. Talking about her past was one of the hardest things she had ever done, but those she had come to know needed to hear it.

"I guess it's best to start with something Anders here has most likely discovered for himself if he's half a good a healer as I suspect him to be." Shepard started, earning a playful scowl from the man in question as she lifted up her hair off the back of her neck. "See that thing there, attached to the base of my skull? That piece of metal is a lot more than it appears." Arya was the first to lay eyes on the bio-amp besides Anders, and soon every one of the party save Bethany saw it as well as they all gathered behind Shepard.

Isabella made the mistake of trying to touch it but as if some sixth sense tripped an alarm in the Adept's head, Cassandra had jerked her head to the side and had 'lifted' the pirate off the floor, blue energy swirling around her. "Don't ever do that again." Isabella rolled her eyes but soon found herself on her ass as Shepard let her drop. Besides a bruised butt and pride she was unharmed.

"I'm just taking a guess here but that, whatever it is, lets you use your particular talents?" Anders asked, earning a simple nod from Shepard. "Just what is it and how do you do it?"

"When I wasn't even born yet, my mother, as many like her who had children like me where I come from, were exposed to a cloud of blue dust that affected a lot of unborn children in the same manner. Not all of us make it since this dust is very dangerous, often killing us while we're in the womb. Others are born mentally unstable, sick, and eventually die anyway. Others still don't start off sick but eventually end up ill either physically, mentally, or both. I was one of the lucky ones."

No one had heard of element zero and what it did to people when inhaled in its gaseous form since as far as Cassandra had seen, it didn't exist on Thedas, so that was Shepard's summed up version. It was the truth, just minus the science behind it was all. Even so, it was enough to see everyone had a different reaction to what she had said so far. Most of the looks were of understandable surprise, while Varric and Isabella were obviously eager to hear more. For some reason it was Isabella that made Shepard wonder if her interest was solely to satiate her curiosity however. Something about the pirate made her wonder if her thoughts were…for lack of a better word 'clean'.

Somehow she doubted it very much as she continued onward. Arya knew, along with Bethany and Leandra, that she was potentially not a resident of Thedas since her clothes before she had swapped them out on their way to Kirkwall, had not matched anything they were familiar with, and now they had the metal thing in the back of her head as added proof of the possibility that she wasn't…native to their world as much as it baffled the mind to consider it.

Shepard wasn't unaware that Arya and her family most likely suspected as such, but for the sake of everyone's sanity, she kept her explanation of her traumatic past as simple as possible. "Let's just say that where I come from, magic is a foreign word while technology is much more common. As for how I got here, I vaguely remember some kind of green blast hitting me before I woke up about an hour behind Arya and her family." Magic was common for Thedas so her rather lame answer, (at least to Shepard's mind it was,) would most likely be accepted for what it sounded like.

As for the rest, she didn't even make it to the point where she had seen her brother get gunned down without feeling tears start to fall from her eyes. The lead up to her life on Mindoir before the raiders attacked she had been able to tell without incident, but the moment she got close to the actual attack, it got hard to breathe without feeling her heart break apart all over again. Arya's presence by her side was thankfully enough to give Cassandra the strength she needed to continue.

"I don't know how it happened, only that after I was found by our military did I realize that I had…developed a kind of mental defense to deal with what I had seen. I had to slip away to allow some…primal part of my psyche loose to survive what fell on my destroyed home. I think…it was after we found where the monsters were making innocent people into slaves is when it formed since I don't remember anything past the smell of burning flesh and spilled blood." Cassandra had to take several minutes to gather her wits enough to continue.

Thankfully no one had yet to ask any questions. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to continue if she was interrupted. Varric had to give it to Cassandra; she had some pretty strong bones to have held up against that kind of past experience as long as she had. You didn't come across someone like her often. He doubted he'd meet anyone like her anytime soon, but he focused on her alone when Shepard started going further.

The fact she was still with her sanity intact, without even needing the added problem of being exposed to that dust crap, was astounding to Isabella. Few people she had ever met that had a story even close to Shepard's own wouldn't have held up half as well. She had a much greater respect for the Adept, and felt quite stupid for thinking she was going to be a problem. She still could but now at least Isabella had a reason why Shepard was the way she was.

Anders had to look away as he felt Justice, or rather Vengeance start to break loose from his control. Despite the relatively happy ending, (how happy do you get when you lose the family farm and your family to boot in the same day was up in the air,) the creatures that Shepard described needed to be exterminated to the last as far as Justice was concerned. Or rather Anders felt that same need to mete out vengeance since it was impossible to tell where he began and Justice ended. So he had to look away and concentrate on something else until he had regained control of himself.

Aveline had her own thoughts on the matter, and all of them pointed to the same conclusion. That simple conclusion told Aveline that Shepard had overstepped her bounds, and that she had put herself and the other guards in danger by not saying something sooner. On the other hand she had to give Cassandra more breathing room than that however since there was no way that she'd be able to start a conversation about any of it herself, let alone expect Shepard to do the same, especially since she hadn't known any of them well enough to tell them about her past Aveline realized now.

Arya might have suspected there was more to Shepard's story than she was telling, but she didn't need to hear her rational for hiding it either since she truly didn't care, only that she was being honest with them now. Her earlier misgivings had been completely wiped away since now she had a fair idea as to why they had found the raiders' camp in the condition it had been, and really who could blame Shepard for going a little crazy with the way their day had gone?

"You should have mentioned something sooner Shepard," Aveline said softly, holding up her hand before anyone could interrupt her, "but I can understand why you didn't. Even so, if you were aware of what you kept locked away that could have escaped if given the right trigger, then you knowingly put those around you in danger. I trust you Shepard, but you'll have to forgive me if I keep a closer eye on you for a while."

"I should probably save you the trouble and resign from the guard, just so you don't have to worry." Aveline shook her head, not about to lose one of her closest allies, especially now that she was to be made guard captain.

"I can't accept your resignation Shepard. Damaged as you are, you forget that we all have our issues. I lost my Wesley; Arya and Bethany lost her brother and father as well as their home to the Darkspawn. Varric has the Merchants Guild to worry about. The point being is that you aren't alone, and I'd be a fine friend if I let you quit for a minor lapse in judgment." Shepard hadn't expected that from Aveline of all people, but one look at the woman's face was all the evidence she needed to see that she had meant every word. Minor lapse of judgment might have been understating things but the intent was clear enough.

Aveline wasn't going to let Shepard go since that was what friends were for; they looked out for each other. Shepard was able to smile a little when Aveline hastily added something else to her earlier comment. "Besides, I need someone I can trust to watch my back now that I'm to be made guard captain, no thanks to you and Hawke."

"You wouldn't have it any other way." Arya smirked before looking at Shepard intently for a moment before she spoke in turn. "But Aveline's right, Cassandra. You've more than proven yourself a loyal and steadfast friend to my family and me. I'd be a damned idiot if I let you off the hook that easily. Sure you have a few issues to work out but as much as you might want to run for the hills out of fear of lashing out against us, you're stuck with us."

"Hate to say it Shepard but you'll have to try harder to scare us off. Besides, you and Chuckles here are the main characters to my newest story about a couple of crazy adventurers. I wouldn't be able to finish if you disappeared on us." Varric chuckled, earning a small laugh from Arya and a little bit of a wider smile from Shepard.

"So chin up tough girl, the past is the past anyway." Isabella was quick to add in, crossing her arms under her considerable chest as she took a few steps forward. "There's nothing you can do to change it anyway, so why dwell on it? Live in the here and now. The past defines who we are but it doesn't control us, if we don't concentrate on it."

"And the Rivaini is profound once again." Varric replied, earning a sexy grin from Isabella as all eyes fell on Anders next. He wasn't sure what to say since he had only met these people today.

"Hey don't look at me, I just healed her." Anders was quick to say, earning a chuckle from Shepard. Arya smiled as well; glad to see the usual charm return to Cassandra's face and eyes once more.

"It's ok Anders. And you're right, all of you. I guess I just needed to hear it was all. So, have a healing potion handy? From what I heard we might not have a lot of time to save Anders's friend." Cassandra began to stand but Anders was quick to keep her sitting down as he shouted for her to stop.

"As glad as I am to hear you're eager to help, I barely managed to pull you from Death's door. You Shepard need to rest at least for the rest of the night, get a hefty meal in your belly, and then we can consider trying to free my friend from the Templars." Anders replied, hating to delay but he had a duty to help his charges. He was a healer first before anything else. Well, a healer with a Fade spirit bound to his very being but that was beside the point.

"I need to get some rest anyway. Hunting for you all up and down Sundermount wasn't exactly easy." Arya was quick to add, earning a saddened look from her friend but her next words erased it, at least partially. "But you were worth every second Cassandra. You helped us get here and helped us make a name for ourselves. I had never been able to properly say thanks until now."

"I don't deserve your thanks perhaps but it's still well received Arya. I really do appreciate all you've done for me in turn." Squeezing the hand closest to her, their eyes met as again they silently confirmed the other's part in their respective lives as they had silently confirmed and accepted the other's skill when they had first met. They would likely remain only close friends perhaps but that was enough for the both of them.

"When you're done playing grab ass with each other how about we all get some rest before we fall where we stand?" Isabella asked, deflating the odd atmosphere that had fallen upon the clinic's inhabitants.

"Shut up whore." Aveline was quick to retort, earning another grin from Isabella who bowed mockingly at the waist just to add insult to injury. The guard captain had to shake her head and waved her hand in defeat, at least for the moment.

* * *

Everyone had been exhausted by the time they had gotten to their respective beds. It wasn't until late afternoon that most of the growing group had been able to get up and about for the day. With the guards reassembled in the barracks, Aveline was able to confirm the rumors that their soon to be appointed Lieutenant Cassandra Shepard was safe and sound. The news did the ones that had already accepted Aveline's appointment as guard captain a world of good while the ones that held hatred for any Ferelden refugees grumbled all the louder.

At least they had the good sense to do it when she wasn't in earshot.

Bethany and Leandra meanwhile, (Gamlen having slunk off to the Blooming Rose earlier that morning,) were given the short version of Shepard's past, with Cassandra's blessing to do so, and Arya had to bodily stop her sister from running to the clinic then and there to talk to woman herself. "She's probably still asleep. She was in pretty bad shape when I saw her last night. Don't worry; you'll get your chance my dear sister. Besides, we have a lot to do today and I need you with me."

"Oh alright, but as soon as we can I want to head to Darktown if she doesn't join us before then." Bethany insisted, having grown almost as attached to the woman as Arya herself. Arya assured her sister that they would visit her as soon as they were able.

"You two go on ahead. I need to visit the Viscount's Keep and deliver my letter in regards to reclaiming our home." Leandra said, having a smile on her face for once in a long time, too long by Arya's reckoning, let alone her sister's. Having a chance to get her home back had put a new spark in their mother's old bones, and it did them all a world of good to see it.

"I actually planned to head that way first Mother. I heard a rumor that there is someone seeking help in clearing out a mine waiting around in Hightown anyway so I figured to visit Aveline while I was there." Arya was quick to counter, having never liked letting her mother wander around the city alone in any part of the day, especially at night but she was smart enough not to. It still made Arya worry though to leave her alone for too long.

"If you insist Arya, but I can take care of myself well enough." She wasn't going to argue however, knowing that her daughters were just concerned for her well being. They were about to head off until Gamlen returned, bringing along a mabari hound of all things. Leandra recognized the family dog right away shortly before being tackled to the ground and feeling a wet tongue against her face.

"Damn dog followed me home. I had thought I had gotten rid of him when I…lost the house." Arya glared daggers at Gamlen who was quick to look elsewhere before she approached the dog, smiling broadly as she helped her mother to her feet.

"It's good to see you too you old brute." Leandra said as she wiped off the slobber from her face before turning to Arya. "I didn't expect him to still be alive. He's been in the family shortly before I eloped. He was just a pup then. His name is Shadow. My father named him that, said that he could blend into the wilds and was an excellent hunter. Isn't that right boy?"

The dog barked in such a way that Arya could have sworn she had heard a 'yes' in there. Mabari hounds were smart creatures. The Tevinter Imperium had bred them through magical means and had given them their intelligent natures as a result. When the Magisters had invaded Ferelden, some of the Mabari had defected and became loyal servants to the local tribes.

Mabaris chose their masters through an act called imprinting. Once they accepted their masters, they stayed by their sides no matter what. Leandra had never received the honor, and as far as she knew neither had her father but Shadow had still stuck around the family home all the same. She had suspected it had most likely something to do with the Mabari hound next door at the time, a female which had been this one's 'friend', for lack of a kinder word.

So when Shadow took one look at Arya and immediately sat at her feet, Leandra had to smile since it seemed a perfect fit. "Did he just imprint with me?" Shadow barked in that way that she took to be a 'yes' as Leandra smiled a little wider. "I always wanted a dog. Now if Shepard gets out of line I can sic you on her." The dog panted and wagged his tail back and forth, making Arya think he was laughing as she scratched between the dog's ears.

Bethany giggled behind her hand, finding the whole affair humorous while Gamlen waved his hand in defeat, tempted to say something but he didn't since he rightfully figured that Arya would just as quickly have her new bloody pet chew on his arse if he wasn't careful.

"Is that a mabari?" Isabella's voice was heard a moment before the door opened, that customary swagger clear as day in the pirate's step as she entered the hovel that currently passed for the Hawke home. Shadow barked again, as if answering the pirate's question as he stood to his feet once again. Isabella shook her head before speaking further. "I'm not against dogs, but if you hump my leg, I'll stab you."

Shadow gave a confused whine and cocked his head to the side, clearly worried for his continued health.

"I thought you liked having your leg humped?" Arya asked, earning a smirk from Isabella but she shook her head all the same, not quite as eager for such activities as was believed.

"Not without a night of dinner and drinks first if nothing else, most times anyway." Isabella replied, smirking a bit wider until she remembered that she had been there for something, and now she couldn't remember what it was. "Balls, I can't remember why I came here now."

"Ah you'll think of it if it's important enough. Come on, we need to pick up Shepard after we go to Hightown for some business." Arya replied, smiling broadly as she indicated the heavy sack of pilfered goods they had collected from the mercs the other night. "I'm sure the sound of coins filling our purses will put you in a better mood." Isabella's wide grin was all the incentive that Arya needed.

* * *

Cassandra woke up with a start as she relived the last happy moments in her past life on Mindoir before it turned into the nightmare she had lived through by some miracle. She sighed heavily as she swung her legs over the side of the stone table, ignoring Anders' protests altogether. "Let me put it this way Anders; if you try to keep me here another minute, I'm going to end up crazy, and you've seen how that turned out." She said it with her usual humor present in her tone, but there was a hint of truth to her words as well.

"Alright, but at least get that meal before you do anything crazy today." Anders said in turn, looking away as Cassandra dressed what was left of her armor, which unfortunately wasn't much. Most of the chest pieces were shot to Hell no thanks to that sword slash and it turned out an exploding arrow. How she had managed to survive was a bigger mystery than she had realized, but at least she was still alive, thanks to her armor it seemed.

She had enough though that it wouldn't fall off, so there was that. It still stunk to high Heaven of the crap she had put herself through, but Cassandra was able to ignore it for the most part. "Thanks, really Anders." Shepard said without a trace of her normal humor, hating having the blood of innocents on her hands even if she hadn't been in her right mind at the time. Anders saw the look on her face and stood, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"It wasn't your fault. You were reliving the worst part of your life while under the influence of your injuries and probably a fever to boot. I didn't get a chance to confirm that last bit though." Shepard sighed but nodded, still feeling quite bad about it but at least Anders wasn't holding a grudge. She still pulled her shoulder away and Anders didn't press further.

"I signed on to my people's military to prevent innocent people from dying and suffering, and instead I wind up doing it myself. Guess there's nothing for it now." Shepard shook her head and was glad for the meal that Anders had somehow gotten together for her. Considering they were in Darktown that was a bit of a miracle of its own. Still, she wasn't going to complain about the quality of the food since she was starving. Surviving a near death experience did that to most.

"We've all done things we're not proud of Shepard. Some of us don't have the excuse of being near Death's door."

That got Cassandra's attention as she looked up just in time to see Anders look away. She was curious if that had been in reference to himself but never got the chance to ask as the door opened and revealed Arya, Bethany, and Varric. Cassandra never got the chance to say hello before she felt the young Hawke hug her to the point she had trouble breathing. "Choking, not breathing."

"Oh, sorry!" Bethany blushed crimson, but Cassandra couldn't help but laugh as she scratched the back of her head in mild embarrassment, not used to such displays of emotions, much less being on the receiving end of such.

"It's good to see you too Beth. For a moment there I wasn't sure I'd get out of that mess in one piece. I have Anders to thank for my new lease on life." Shepard managed a smile, somehow hiding behind her charming persona to keep any prying questions away, at least for now. She knew Arya had spoken of her past to some regard to both Bethany and Leandra, so knew it'd be only a matter of time before she had to answer more questions.

"Just make sure it doesn't become a habit. I do have limits you know." Anders retorted with a smirk before growing serious a moment later. "Just don't forget about tonight is all. I don't want to delay any more than I have to." Everyone nodded as Arya tossed Cassandra a health potion which didn't go to waste as the Adept drained it down without a thought.

"How do people drink these I'll never figure out." Shepard said as she coughed at the horrible taste but at least the rest of her wounds disappeared. Pulling the bandage off, her armor damaged enough that all she had to do was peel it off of her side given the fact her stomach was exposed now, (something she'd need to fix in a hurry,) Cassandra winced only slightly as some dried blood kept it attached to her now healed skin. Pulling the rest away from underneath the armor, Shepard tossed it into the nearest waste bucket. "That feels better."

"You certainly look better Shepard. You've got a will to survive stronger than the stone in Kirkwall."

"Thanks Varric. And you're still as witty as ever." Shepard replied, earning a grin from the story teller and a couple of laughs from the Hawke sisters. "So, anything exciting I should know about?"

"Apparently I'm now the 'proud' partner to a mine called the Bone Pit. Isabella had a few rather lewd comments to make about that as you can probably guess by now, but otherwise we're only a few sovereigns away from making our fifty gold piece quota before we become partners with Bartrand's expedition." Arya replied, and something about the way she said it made Shepard shake her head.

"She means we still have a long way to go. We're still thirty sovereign short." Varric replied, confirming Cassandra's suspicions as she shook her head in amusement.

"I can't help it. Work is good here in Kirkwall but we've only just begun to collect what we need. The fact we got attacked by assassins on our way here, out for my blood, literally I might add, hasn't helped matters." That got Shepard's attention as Bethany blushed crimson again for a different reason altogether.

"Who in their right mind would attack you is beyond me Chuckles, but I think they were from the Coterie. That doesn't bode well since they were all rambling about needing the 'blood of the Hawkes' for something or another." Varric explained when asked what was going on now by Cassandra. "You seem to collect crazy like most people collect pairs of socks."

"She does, doesn't she?" Bethany was quick to add, earning a playful scowl from both Cassandra and Arya while Varric just chuckled. But then Bethany grew serious since she had a bad feeling the attacks were just beginning. "I just hope they don't go after mother. We at least can defend ourselves."

"We'll figure it out Beth, we always have so far right?" Cassandra replied, earning a weak nod from the young Hawke. "Hey, I promise we'll figure this out, on top of everything else we've faced what's a few assassins to worry about?"

"She's got a point Sunshine. Besides, if all else fails, there's always Bianca." Varric was quick to chime in.

The rest of the day had most of the group running errands all across Kirkwall, saving a young half elven boy from Templars, (something that was going to bite them in the ass later,) collecting items and returning them to their rightful owners, (it was amazing what people tended to lose,) and saving a group of mages as well as Templars from killing each other in a cave on the Wounded Coast. That last one had been tough, but Varric and his quick tongue saved the day after fighting a few mages that hadn't been willing to negotiate. When asked about it later by Anders, Cassandra and Arya had a few things to say.

* * *

"I'm of the mind that both sides need to see reason before it's too late. There's fault enough without adding to it." Arya was quick to say, and Cassandra was quick to agree as they left the Wounded Coast area to see to more of Kirkwall's neverending problems.

"She's right. Despite what the Templars would have us believe, people push back when they see no other option. I'd like to know more about the problem before deciding one way or the other for sure, but I agree with Arya from what I've seen already. There's fault on both sides of this argument. Fault on the Templars for pushing as hard as they do to control the mages, and fault with the mages for resorting to the only thing they can to have a chance, but on the other hand I can't say I blame them either. It's a vicious cycle in the end."

"One that starts with and ends with the Templars." Anders was quick to point out, earning a sad shake of the two women's heads for his trouble since they weren't so quick to agree. It always started somewhere, but either way the end result would be the same unless something it all changed for the better.

"Hate to say it Blondie but you're outvoted on this one. And before you ask, I don't have an opinion personally." Varric said in turn, earning an exasperated sigh from the mage in their group as they went back to Kirkwall.

By the time they got back, it was time to put Anders' plan into action. It was time to free his friend from the Templars, but Cassandra had a very bad feeling as they neared the Chantry once more that day. Something about it didn't feel right at all, and one look at Arya was all she needed to know that the rogue shared a similar feeling. Today had been weird enough without having to fight undead and a couple of demons summoned by one of the mages back in that cave, now they were planning to go up against Templars possibly?

Knowing their luck it was probably a trap.

"Let me talk to Karl. After that we can get out of here." Anders said after the group had a quick look around the Chantry grounds, seeing no trace of Templar forces but that didn't make either Arya or Shepard lower their guard. Aveline had since joined them, Varric having gone back to the Hanged Man for a drink and a bath he had said. They all needed one after today but that wasn't on most of their minds. The Coterie assassins, the mage problem, and more were much more present at the moment, but as of that time and place, it was hoping they'd get out of this business in one piece.

None of them had yet to face a Templar, and Cassandra had heard more than enough stories of how they were effective mage hunters. She didn't know if her biotics would be able to harm them. Thankfully she had Desdemona's Blade, provided to her by Arya earlier that day, and her other skills, but she still felt uneasy about this.

"If he was a prisoner to the Templars, then why would they let him come here?" Cassandra asked the question that was on everyone's minds.

"Because the Gallows doesn't have a place devoted to prayer to the Maker. Mages are allowed to go to the Chantry if the need is enough and they're believers. Most people are in most Circles." Anders was quick to say, but Cassandra wasn't convinced as they found Karl standing with their back to them on the second floor in a secluded alcove of sorts. This didn't look like a trap at all. She sighed and shook her head, letting her hand fall to her sword as they approached. Arya looked ready to spring into action as well, which made Cassandra's worry a little less but they were still on edge.

"Anders I know you too well. I knew you would never give up." Karl spoke once he became aware of their presence, sending a chill down Cassandra's spine since he didn't sound normal at all. In fact, he sounded as if he had been stripped of all of his emotions, and the reason why was made clear when he turned around and they got a look at his face. There was a brand on his forehead, in the shape of a sun.

Anders face was frozen in one of shock which soon devolved into that of bestial rage as the cold hard fact sunk in that Karl had been made Tranquil. To a mage, it was a fate worse than death itself since they were effectively silenced, their very souls locked away by the lyrium branded into their flesh. They were like a walking corpse, intelligent yet forever obedient to the Templars since there was no way to reverse the Rite of Tranquility.

Two things happened at the same time. Anders started to glow blue as lines of pure magic formed clean through his clothes before he burst into blue light. He had been taken over by Justice, they'd find out. The second thing that happened was that Templars had since surrounded them, but they didn't know what they were truly up against since Anders was an Abomination in the purest sense of the word.

Of course, he wasn't the only one that was utterly mad with rage at the sight of Karl and the state he was in now. _Even the fucking batarians couldn't match this level of insanity! _At least their implant devices could be removed and the person returned to their normal state! Cassandra's eyes flared with her rage as she pulled her blade, the rest of their group doing the same as Anders started the devastation with a few well placed lightning spells. "You shall never take another mage as you took him!" Anders shouted in a voice changed by the spirit that he had fused with his very being long ago as he continued to send forth spell after spell into the Templar ranks.

"You bastards don't deserve the air you breathe!" Cassandra shouted in turn as she seemed to flash forward, Charging into their midst as she let her new blade to the talking. She had passed by with the strength of a demon behind her swing before stopping behind the Templar she had sliced in half at the waist. He didn't even know he was dead until he tried to turn only to find he was half the man he used to be.

Arya had heard many times from Bethany that she'd rather die than be made Tranquil, and now she had all the proof she needed to see her point on the matter as she engaged two more of the Templar bastards. The Rite was a horrible means of control, and while she still didn't like that mages pushed back as they did, she couldn't fault them wanting freedom either as she sliced one Templar's throat open before having to appear behind a second who was proving too much for a straight on fight. So a quick backstab leveled the opponent before her before she was able to engage one of the archers.

Cassandra and Anders were fighting like people possessed, (in Anders' case it was actually true,) as Aveline shield bashed another of the Templars before taking the man's head, getting her shield up just in time to stop an arrow from finding her chest. She charged forward, shield first and her sword resting on top as she charged down the offending archer. She skewered the man through his stomach before headbutting him hard, ignoring the helmet he wore altogether as she pulled her blade free. The bruise would be noticeable for weeks but she too didn't like how things had gone here. There was always a better way.

Cassandra had since lost her sword as she engaged the last, a giant of a man behind a wall of metal. She didn't notice the arrow sticking out of her right shoulder as she closed ranks, her hands glowing brightly in a dark blue compared to Anders' own. Tossing his bow to the side, pulling his sword and shield in a desperate act of defense. The knight lieutenant tried to swing but had his hand caught by Cassandra who crushed it in her own, metal gauntlet and all before she all but tore the shield from his other hand a moment later. "Get back Abomination!"

"Go to HELL!" She shouted back in kind, landing a crushing blow against his head, the only thing protecting him the helmet he wore but even that dented considerably under her dark energy fueled punch before she went for his stomach, bending him over as the air was forced out of his lungs. Tossing him to the floor, Cassandra fell on top of him and started to beat the life out of him one crushing blow after another. By the time she noticed her amp about to catch her hair on fire from overuse, there was nothing left but a pile of dented metal plates and a considerably sized smear on the floor where the Templar had once been.

Her knuckles were bruised and bloody, almost down to the bone but she hadn't noticed until she had been able to see clearly again. Anders had since returned to his senses and thought he had issues as he saw what was left of the foes Cassandra had engaged. "If this is what they do to mages who don't fall in line like good little slaves then every Templar can go to Hell, Anders."

"Think about it later when you've a clear head Shepard." Anders said in turn, pulling the arrow out of the woman's shoulder before healing as much of the damage he could which thankfully wasn't as much as it had been before. He didn't have that much mana left to spare. He sighed heavily and shook his head before seeing that Karl had somehow returned to normal, at least for the moment.

Arya and Cassandra both couldn't refute Karl's wish to die free than live as a Templar puppet, and Arya's words to the troubled mage in their company was enough to give Anders the strength he needed to finish Karl's suffering. Cassandra had to look away, groaning weakly as her strength was all but gone once more. She needed a drink, a meal, and a bath before passing out for the night. "Find me tomorrow; I…need to get out of here."

Arya didn't ask, didn't need to ask as she watched Cassandra limp off. She had since reclaimed the sword the rogue had given to her but she could tell that a simple thing as that wouldn't help what was likely passing through Shepard's mind. They were all a bit troubled by the scene that now lay behind them. "Stay safe." Arya whispered to herself, hoping Cassandra wouldn't do anything stupid or get herself hurt. She didn't have to worry, but she couldn't help it. Looking up to the rooftops as they exited the Chantry, Arya thought she saw someone watching them but shook her head since she must just be tired.

* * *

It was impressive to see a small group as theirs take on Templars with so little trouble. The man in spike covered armor had briefly seen the leader's face and remembered it well from the stories he had heard of Arya Hawke and her assorted allies. He put a gauntlet hand to his chin, considering his options in what laid ahead for him. He could use someone of their caliber to help him slay his former master. Meeting with Anso would most likely set things into motion quite well. He had run long enough. If these people helped him, then he would not have to run any longer.

There always comes a time when one stopped running, when you must stand and face the tiger. That time was quickly approaching for Fenris as he disappeared into the night. There was much to do in preparation for the trap the Imperial Bounty Hunters had set for the runaway slave, but if things went well, his master would be next on the chopping block.

* * *

Cassandra had since made her way to the Blooming Rose after making a quick stop at the barracks and the baths. She didn't want to scare anyone off after all, looking like a potential Abomination or something. Sighing as she took a look around the supposedly high class brothel, Cassandra made her way to the bar. It was a rather warm and welcoming place despite the walls being made of the same stone as the Chantry; full of exotic sights and smells although she knew a lot of it was just for show.

Despite the promise of a yielding pair of thighs and a warm tongue mixed in with exotic perfumes and the like, Cassandra didn't much care for the people that dubbed themselves 'entertainers.' A whore was a whore, no matter how you dressed her…or in some cases him up. Even so, she wasn't exactly here to get laid, just get drunk enough to make her judgment and her memory a blur for a few hours if not longer.

Her amp had thankfully cooled off since then but her mood and her head both still gave her trouble. Her head was pounding with a potential migraine but thankfully Anders' magic had affected that part of her as well, so it was a dull and constant ache rather than a black horse running free through her brain. Her mood however wouldn't be so easily quieted since she knew she had lost control again.

Considering what she had seen tonight, no one could blame her as she found that she had unwanted company next to her. Gamlen took one look at Cassandra and bolted for the door, making the Adept smile a little to see she held some power over the bastard. "I see someone is afraid of you. I can't imagine why."

Cassandra looked and saw Isabella swaggering over to her immediate right where a seat had just been vacated. Normally she wouldn't have wanted company as she flagged down the bartender and got herself a heavy duty drink for her black mood, but Cassandra found Isabella hard to resist. "Long story with him, but let's just say his fear is well justified."

"And well deserved if half of what I've heard of that particular gutter rat is true. I didn't take you for a drinker Shepard." Isabella said in turn as she watched the woman drain half of her glass in one go, raising an eyebrow in curiosity at the display.

"I'm trying something new. I thought you'd be the last one to judge given what I've heard of you 'Captain.'" Cassandra retorted with clear sarcasm in her voice for the title, but Isabella didn't let it bother her since she had been called far worse.

"Say what you will tough girl, but if you gave me a chance you might find you like walking on the wild side." Isabella replied, and Cassandra had to wonder if the pirate had a point.

"So what are you doing here? I thought you'd be after the Relic?" Cassandra asked as she took another sip from the flagon before her, already feeling pleasantly buzzed although she wanted more than a buzz. Isabella was wise enough to stop her before she threw up her liver as she put a hand over her empty glass, effectively cutting her off. The pirate earned a murderous glare for her trouble but Isabella ignored it.

"As much as I'd favor you piss poor drunk so I could get you into bed, I'd rather you survived the occasion and not have you puking up your insides if this is your first time getting plastered." Cassandra sighed and looked away, suddenly finding the idea of talking to Isabella something she didn't want to put herself through. "Besides, I've hit a dead end on the Relic and I'd rather not have Hawke find an excuse to put a knife in my back if I tell her you wound up dead in an alley."

"Glad to see where I rank with your priorities."

"What can I say? I'm a giver." Shepard shook her head and sighed heavily again but was stopped from looking away when she felt Isabella's hand on her face. "Despite what you might think of me, I always looked after my crew before I lost them in the…storm. You wouldn't be the first person I've had to save from their own stupidity." That got Shepard's attention as their eyes met, feeling something connect between them although she chalked it up to the drink she had already poured down her throat more than anything.

"I just…I can't let go of the past. I guess I sound pretty pathetic to you right now don't I?" She kept on seeing her dead brothers' faces accusing her whenever she closed her eyes, and if it wasn't them it was always the batarians and their monstrous activities across Mindoir that haunted her dreams.

"No, quite the opposite actually. The past made you who you are sure but as I said before, it's over. There's no point in dwelling on it further. It might not be easy, especially having to watch your family slain as you did, but at least you had family that cared for you and you for them." Isabella replied, almost in a whisper which caught Cassandra's attention more than the words themselves. It seemed that the saucy pirate wench among them had a few issues of her own.

Feeling her hand leave her face, Cassandra forgot all about her drink and could only look at Isabella, curious as to what she had meant but the moment had passed. "Thanks…for saving me from myself there."

"You're worth it Shepard. Now, about getting you into bed…" Cassandra managed a laugh which lit up her face, which made Isabella smile in turn.

"You're persistent, I'll give you that. The fact I'm inexperienced doesn't bother you?" Cassandra asked in all seriousness but she earned another one of Isabella's customary and very sexy grins in reply.

"Nope, it just makes it all the more fun to show you how the other side lives is all." Was Isabella's quick and ready retort to their ongoing conversation. Cassandra shrugged and wasn't stopped as she finished the rest of her glass, shaking her head as the beer went down her throat and seemed to burn pleasantly the whole way down.

"Ah hell, why not? Not like I can go home anyway so I have no superiors to answer to like I do here. I've heard of many city guards coming here on their days off, not to mention Templars so what's the harm of a night of debauchery?" Cassandra said, earning the widest grin she had seen on Isabella's face yet.

"There's my tough girl." She replied cheerfully, standing and heading to the woman in charge of the place. Coins didn't exchange hands, which made Cassandra wonder how far in advance Isabella had paid for her time there in the Rose, but she didn't have it in her to ask as the pirate led her upstairs. Once they were through the door to one of the lavishly appointed rooms in the Rose, the door was shut behind them by the pirate and Cassandra had since sat down on the bed, suddenly feeling out of her element.

She could handle demons and undead, raiders and bandits, Darkspawn and more besides, but the thought of suddenly going for broke with a pirate she knew next to nothing about? That hung her up more than the Templars had when she had seen what they had done to Karl.

"Relax Shepard, you have nothing to worry about." Isabella said as she noticed the anxious look on the woman's face. "Thirty years old and still haven't gotten laid; well I intend to fix that."

"How'd you guess my age so easily?" Cassandra asked, but she suddenly had a lap full of Rivaini as said pirate pushed her onto her back and straddled her waist, her lips suddenly on the Adept's own before she knew what was going on. She had been kissed before but that had been years ago, shortly before the attack on Mindoir. That kiss had been quick, clean, and chaste. Isabella's lips were full of fire and passion and Cassandra was helpless to respond as she felt hands on her chest, trying to undo the simple outfit she had worn for the evening.

Isabella stopped and seemed to ponder the question, until Shepard saw the dagger appear in the pirate's free hand. She trusted her enough to know that she didn't intend harm, and her intent became clear as the sound of fabric being cut was soon heard right before Cassandra's shirt was cut up the middle in one smooth slice upward without ever touching the bare skin underneath. The hint of danger and Isabella's precise control with the blade was a sort of aphrodisiac all of its own as Shepard felt heat pool in her core and start to radiate outward from there.

Who knew she had a thing for dangerous women? She sure as Hell didn't as she watched Isabella toss the dagger away before leaning back down, somehow having since produced a silk scarf from out of her outfit. "What the…?"

"It's something of a hobby of mind. You can find all kinds of uses for silk scarves and the like. Blindfolding for example." Normally Shepard wouldn't have considered anything of the sort but again the hint of the unknown, of the danger made her pliant and compliant as she let the woman wrap the red piece of cloth around her eyes and tie it off behind her head before letting Cassandra relax. Having since slipped the ruined shirt as she scooted up the bed on Isabella's soft command, Shepard couldn't see anything but her other senses started to take up the slack as they became hypersensitive.

Despite this, she still couldn't hear Isabella until she felt the pirate's lips on her right ear, whisper soft against her neck. "I plan to take my time with you, Cassandra. If you ever feel the need to stop, do not hesitate to say so, but until then let go of your control. Surrender and simply feel, Shepard."

"Easier said then done." Isabella gave a soft chuckle despite her partner's words since even this little bit of foreplay had Shepard obviously hot and eager, and Isabella was a master at her craft. She knew how to play a woman's body like a harp and keep them going until they couldn't take anymore, until they were dripping with need and begging for release. She wanted Shepard to remember this night for a long time, even if it was simply sex and nothing more.

Somewhere Isabella produced a second scarf and had tied her partner's hands to the headboard, immobilizing her in silk. The image made the pirate grin as she remembered one of her less savory books she favored, one she planned to share with Arya and maybe even her sister, just to see their reactions to it if nothing else. "You say that now Shepard, but I've learned that sometimes the only way to be free is to surrender your will to another. And what can I say; I like to be on top."

"N…never would have guessed that." Shepard shuddered as she felt fingernails against her ribcage, Isabella's fingers tracing the scars that dotted her otherwise white flesh to the pirate's tanned skin.

"Give that tongue a rest; I don't want it worn out…yet." Isabella purred and Cassandra could only just hear the sound of an assortment of zippers, buckles, and the like being undone until a few moments later she felt bare flesh against her own as the pirate put her weight on top of Shepard's form, unable to suppress a moan as their bare skin rubbed against each other as she felt her bottom lip taken between Isabella's teeth.

She hissed when her lip was released after a small and gentle bite to her lip before she felt the Rivaini's mouth on hers again. Her tongue sought entrance and Cassandra was willing as she opened her mouth to receive the skilled appendage, savoring the taste of what she'd always identify as the sea mixed with whatever exotic wines the pirate favored. It would only be Isabella's as she felt her hands on her bosom, squeezing and massaging her chest while they kissed.

Cassandra could do nothing but squirm like a fish on a hook as she weakly struggled against her simple bonds, having no intention of breaking free as pleasure started to build in her core. Breaking away with a heated moan, Isabella wriggled her way down a little and started to rain kisses down her partner's body while paying special attention to any old scars she found along the way.

"You're nothing but hard edges and even harder muscle Shepard, but ever since I first met you, you reminded me of several of my old crew. You'd have done well as a pirate, of that I have no doubt." Cassandra could only whimper as she felt Isabella's nails against her flesh again, traveling downward before she gasped when she felt the pirate's mouth on her right breast where she sucked and licked the nub until it was hard as a rock before doing the same to the other.

She had no idea what to expect next, had no idea what she was doing anymore as Cassandra was soon divested of the rest of her simple outfit as Isabella pulled away her pants and what passed for underwear for her, which was really nothing more than a simple leather loincloth. Isabella didn't immediately go for the prize however and instead continued to tease and torment her current partner as she kissed along Shepard's inner thighs after paying a little attention to her navel region.

Blindfolded, bound, and completely at Isabella's mercy, what felt like hours of blissful torment was really only ten minutes tops. Isabella was impressed by Shepard's resilience since most women by the fifth minute would have been long since given up trying to resist and gave into her, but not Shepard. She was too tough, too disciplined, and obviously not easily manipulated, but even she had to give into her body's sensory input at some point.

Gasping and arching her back into Isabella's hands that had found her breasts again, Cassandra felt a lightning bolt sizzle through her nervous system when she felt the pirate's mouth on the entrance to her core at last. She had barely been there a second but the sudden shift from cool to hot as flesh met flesh in a kiss on the hood of her sex was enough to send Shepard over the edge as she climaxed for the first time with an actual partner.

It sure beat any solo affairs the few times she had ever needed such release.

"Oh Hell…that…." Cassandra couldn't form two coherent thoughts as she felt rather than heard Isabella's chuckle between her legs, groaning as the small vibrations from the pirate's mouth so close to her still further stimulated her nerves in that region.

"And the night's only just begun tough girl."

* * *

_A/N I had kind of planned for this to happen at some point but I hadn't initially planned for this to happen so soon. The fact my damn muse didn't want to cooperate didn't help matters today. Still, I hope everything seemed to fit guys and gals and any thoughts, comments, etc are more than welcome._

_We finish the rest of Bait and Switch, pick up Merril, and then, we'll see what happens from there since I hinted at the DLC Legacy stuff involving the head of the Hawke family, Malcolm Hawke and the terrible secret he helped the Wardens bury in a one way prison. ;D_


End file.
